Ophthalmology Expert Witness
Independent expert consultation, reports, and testimony in civil and criminal matters involving the eye and vision.
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Ophthalmology Expert Witness · QME · AME · IME
Marc H. Shomer, MD, PhD, QME
Ophthalmology Expert Witness, Qualified Medical Evaluator, Agreed Medical Evaluator and Independent Medical Examiner
Independent ophthalmic analysis, medical-record review and expert consultation for attorneys, insurers, claims professionals and government agencies.
Nationwide expert-witness consultation, record review and in-person ophthalmic evaluation. California QME and AME services. Willing to travel for examinations, depositions and testimony by arrangement.
Board-Certified OphthalmologistAmerican Board of Ophthalmology, certified 2011, recertified 2021
MD and PhD, UCLAMedical Scientist Training Program; PhD in Neuroscience
Jules Stein Eye InstituteOphthalmology residency at UCLA
Active California QMEQualified Medical Evaluator; AME when selected by the parties
Direct Engagement
Work directly with the physician who reviews your case
Dr. Shomer is not a referral directory or a placement service. Attorneys who engage Legal Eye Expert work directly with the ophthalmologist who reads the records, interprets the imaging, examines the claimant when appropriate, writes the report, and testifies.
He is a board-certified ophthalmologist and physician-scientist with MD and PhD training through the UCLA Medical Scientist Training Program, ophthalmology residency at the Jules Stein Eye Institute, and a comprehensive ophthalmology practice in Upland, California since 2010. He has provided medical-legal consultation for more than 13 years, in plaintiff and defense matters, including record review, written reports, deposition testimony and courtroom testimony.
Services
Medical-Legal Services
Consultation, evaluation and testimony across the full range of vision-related legal matters.
California QME
Qualified Medical Evaluator examinations and medical-legal reports for disputed California workers' compensation eye injuries.
Learn more →Agreed Medical Evaluator
Service as AME in represented workers' compensation matters when both parties select Dr. Shomer.
Learn more →Independent Medical Examination
Ophthalmic IMEs with complete diagnostic testing for personal injury, disability, and liability matters.
Learn more →Medical-Record Review
Complete chart and native-format imaging review, available remotely for matters nationwide.
Learn more →Standard of Care
Analysis of whether ophthalmic care met the standard expected of a reasonably careful ophthalmologist.
Learn more →Medical Causation
Whether claimed visual loss is attributable to the incident, to pre-existing disease, or to another cause.
Learn more →Visual Disability and Impairment
Objective measurement and rating of visual impairment for compensation and damages purposes.
Learn more →
Subject-Matter Areas
Ophthalmic Issues in Litigation
Vision cases turn on specific clinical questions. Each area below has a dedicated page explaining the medical issues, the records that matter, and the causation and standard-of-care considerations attorneys should understand.
The QME Distinction
Why the Qualified Medical Evaluator designation matters
Any licensed physician can be retained as an expert witness. A Qualified Medical Evaluator is different: the QME designation is issued by the State of California through the Division of Workers' Compensation under Labor Code §139.2, and requires passing a state competency examination in medical-legal evaluation, meeting specific education and practice requirements, and completing ongoing education with reappointment every two years.
The designation exists because California requires disputed workers' compensation injuries to be evaluated by physicians the state has vetted for medical-legal competence — not merely for clinical skill. Dr. Shomer holds an active California QME appointment and is available to serve as an Agreed Medical Evaluator when both parties select him.
About Dr. Shomer
A practicing surgeon and physician-scientist
Dr. Shomer earned both his MD and his PhD in neuroscience at UCLA through the Medical Scientist Training Program, completing doctoral research on axonal sprouting in the adult brain and later studying injury-induced neurogenesis in the adult mammalian retina at the UCLA Department of Ophthalmology. He completed his ophthalmology residency at the Jules Stein Eye Institute and has been certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology since 2011, recertifying in 2021.
He has served as Adjunct Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC since 2009 and maintains an active comprehensive ophthalmology practice. That combination — active surgical practice, formal research training, and academic teaching — is what allows him to evaluate ophthalmic evidence rigorously and explain it clearly to attorneys, judges and juries.
Methodology
How opinions are developed
Every engagement follows the same sequence, regardless of which party retains him. The discipline is what makes an opinion defensible under cross-examination.
1. Conflict review
Every matter begins with a conflict check before any substantive discussion of the facts.
2. Defining the questions
The precise medical-legal questions are identified and agreed in writing, so the review answers what counsel actually needs.
3. Organized record review
The complete record is read — not summaries — and diagnostic imaging is reviewed in native digital format where available.
4. Chronology development
A dated, source-cited timeline establishes what was known, when, and what followed.
5. Independent analysis
Findings are interpreted directly rather than accepted as characterized in the notes or by another expert.
6. Examination when appropriate
In-person ophthalmic examination with complete diagnostic testing when the matter warrants and arrangements permit.
7. Alternative explanations
Competing causes and reasonable differential diagnoses are considered explicitly, not ignored.
8. Medical literature
Applicable peer-reviewed literature and professional guidance inform the analysis.
9. Facts, assumptions, opinions
Written work separates established facts from assumptions from professional judgment.
10. Reporting and testimony
Written reports when retained for that purpose; deposition and trial testimony as the matter requires.
Independence
Plaintiff and defense matters
Dr. Shomer accepts carefully selected plaintiff and defense engagements. He is not an advocate for either side; his role is to evaluate the medical evidence independently and to state what it does and does not support — including when that answer is unwelcome to the retaining party.
Prior engagement in a matter does not imply endorsement of either plaintiff or defense positions. Opinions are based on the available evidence and the physician's independent medical judgment.
That balance is practical, not merely principled. An expert whose conclusions are predictable from the retaining party is easily impeached. An expert who screens cases candidly at the outset — and declines those the evidence does not support — testifies from a stronger position when a case does proceed. See Representative Medical-Legal Experience.
Attorney Resources
Practical guidance for counsel
Substantive resources on retaining an ophthalmology expert, assembling records, and understanding the ophthalmic evidence in your case.
How to Retain an Ophthalmology Expert
The engagement sequence from conflict check to report, and how to time it against discovery deadlines.
Read →What Records to Provide
A complete checklist — including why native-format imaging matters more than printouts.
Read →Attorney Checklist for Eye-Injury Cases
Practical steps, records to gather, and the questions worth asking an ophthalmology expert.
Read →Expert Witness FAQs
Answers to the questions counsel most often ask before engaging an ophthalmology expert.
Read →Frequently Asked Questions
What is an ophthalmology expert witness?
An ophthalmology expert witness is a physician specializing in diseases and surgery of the eye who provides independent opinions in legal matters — on diagnosis, causation, standard of care, or visual impairment — through medical-record review, written reports, and testimony at deposition and trial.
What is the difference between a QME, an AME, and an IME?
A QME is a physician appointed by the California Division of Workers' Compensation to evaluate disputed workers' compensation injuries, after passing a state competency examination and meeting ongoing education requirements. An AME is a physician both parties in a represented California workers' compensation case agree to use — a role, not a separate credential. An IME is a general term for an examination by a physician not involved in the examinee's care, used in personal injury, disability, and liability matters nationwide.
Is Dr. Shomer an active California Qualified Medical Evaluator?
Yes. Dr. Shomer holds an active appointment as a California Qualified Medical Evaluator and is available for QME evaluations in California workers' compensation matters, and to serve as an Agreed Medical Evaluator when selected by the parties.
Where does Dr. Shomer provide services?
Nationwide. Expert-witness consultation, remote medical-record review, in-person ophthalmic examinations and IMEs are all available in any state. Dr. Shomer is willing to travel for examinations, depositions, and testimony by arrangement, subject to availability.
Does Dr. Shomer accept plaintiff or defense matters?
Both. He accepts carefully selected plaintiff and defense engagements. Opinions are formed independently on the evidence, and prior engagement in a matter does not imply endorsement of either plaintiff or defense positions.
How does an attorney begin an engagement?
Submit a conflict-check request describing the matter, parties, venue, and deadlines. After conflicts are cleared, secure transfer instructions are provided and a written engagement agreement defines the scope. Retention occurs only through that written agreement.
Contact
Request a Conflict Check and Case Review
To begin, submit the matter for conflict screening through the secure inquiry form. Include the parties, venue, and any deadlines. After conflicts are cleared, secure transfer instructions and engagement terms will be provided.
Do not submit medical records, protected health information or confidential documents through the preliminary inquiry form. Secure transfer instructions will be provided after conflict review.
Office
Legal Eye ExpertMarc H. Shomer, MD, PhD, QME
1298 W. 7th Street
Upland, California 91786
Office: 909-981-9800
Fax: 909-946-3937
Submitting an inquiry does not retain Dr. Shomer and does not create a physician-patient, attorney-client or expert-client relationship. Retention occurs only through a written agreement.
Request a Conflict Check and Case Review
Submit the matter for conflict screening. Please do not send medical records or protected health information until conflicts are cleared and secure transfer instructions are provided.