Testimony at home and abroad
NAAG physicians have testified in state courts across the United States, in U.S. federal and military courts, in Canada and in overseas civilian and military courts.
NAAG Forensic PC · Established 2015
Because truth matters.
A forensic pathology institution serving law enforcement, the courts and families from its own laboratories in California, with casework across the United States and abroad.
Who are you?Choose your path
- 01
Law enforcement & coroners
Sheriff-coroners, medical examiners, police and death investigators.
- 02
Department of Defense
Military justice, armed-forces counsel and investigative agencies.
- 03
Prosecutors
District attorneys, attorneys general and their investigators.
- 04
Defense attorneys
Public defenders, private counsel and defense investigators.
- 05
Civil attorneys
Wrongful death, medical negligence, insurance and estate matters.
- 06
Families · Private autopsy
An independent private autopsy, and answers after the death of someone you love.
Private autopsy
When your family needs its own answers.
An independent private autopsy, arranged by the family and performed personally by a board-certified forensic pathologist in NAAG’s own California facility, for loved ones from anywhere in the United States or abroad.
- Performed by a physician, never delegated. Every private autopsy is performed directly by a board-certified forensic pathologist, to the same standard as our work for courts and agencies.
- Independent. Our findings answer to the evidence alone, not to a hospital, an agency or an insurer.
- Before embalming or cremation. Call as early as you can: embalming and cremation can make an autopsy less complete, or impossible.
- From anywhere. Our funeral-industry partners bring loved ones to California from across the country and overseas.
- Explained to you. A physician takes the time to explain what was found, and what it means, in plain language.
Virtual autopsy
New · January 1, 2027A non-invasive examination with postmortem CT and laboratory testing. No incision is made.
Private autopsy
New with CT · January 1, 2027A complete autopsy with postmortem CT and every test the case needs, and a plain-language report for the family.
Legal autopsy
When legal action is expectedA first or second autopsy prepared to litigation standard from the outset, with toxicology and transport included.
Family health concerns
Answers for the livingHereditary and genetic questions, including brain examinations for dementia and family genetic testing.
Infants & children
Fetal · perinatal · pediatricCareful, expert examination of babies and children, led by a pediatric forensic pathologist.
Second autopsy
After an autopsy elsewhereA second, independent examination or a review of the first, when the official autopsy leaves questions.
Apex Autopsy Service
Personal · within 24 hoursThe same examination, arranged personally and quietly, with the report within five days.
Seven days a week. If embalming or cremation is already scheduled, please call before it happens.
What we do
Forensic pathology is not about the dead. It is medicine for the law.
Forensic pathology is a recognized subspecialty of medicine. Forensic pathologists are physicians: after medical school they complete residency training in pathology and fellowship training in forensic pathology, and earn board certification by examination. They apply that specialized medical knowledge and skill to help solve legal problems, whether the person at the center of the question has died or is living.
- The living. Injuries in a child alleged to have been abused; strangulation of a survivor; the age and mechanism of a fracture; the pattern of injuries in a family-law dispute.
- The dead. The cause and manner of death; the timing and mechanism of injury; the identity of the deceased; the significance of disease, drugs and medical care.
- The law. Every opinion is formed to the standard of evidence a court requires, documented so another qualified expert can test it, and explained plainly to judges and juries.
2015A California professional medical corporation, operating since 2015
DoD · LEDepartment of Defense and law-enforcement contractor
CA · FLOffices in California and Florida
GlobalCasework across California, the United States and abroad
What we are
An institution, not an intermediary.
NAAG is often mistaken for something it is not. The distinction matters to every agency, court and family that relies on our work.
NAAG is not
- An expert-witness referral service.We do not broker experts, rent out names or match lawyers with outside doctors. Our physicians examine, document and testify on their own work.
- A pathology staffing agency.We do not place locum pathologists in other offices. Agencies contract with NAAG, and NAAG is accountable for the result.
- A loose network of consultants.NAAG is one organization, with one standard of practice, one reporting system and one chain of accountability.
NAAG is
- A formally organized medical institution.NAAG Forensic PC is a California professional medical corporation, owned and operated by forensic pathologists, operating continuously since 2015.
- A Department of Defense and law-enforcement contractor.For more than ten years NAAG has served the U.S. Department of Defense and California law enforcement. Sheriff-coroners contract with NAAG to perform medicolegal examinations under Government Code § 27491.
- A forensic pathology laboratory service.Our own facilities, physicians, scientists, technicians and investigators, and our own secure reporting system, built in-house.
When NAAG signs a report, NAAG stands behind it: our physicians, our laboratory, our name.
Disciplines
The full depth of forensic medicine.
Subspecialists who work side by side, so that every question a death raises is answered by someone trained to answer it.
Forensic pathology & autopsy
Adults · children · infantsComplete medicolegal autopsies and external examinations, built to withstand cross-examination and appellate review.
Pediatric forensic pathology
The Deep DiveSudden unexpected infant and child deaths and suspected abuse, including full secondary laboratory investigation of retained evidence.
Forensic neuropathology
Brain · spinal cord · eyesBoard-certified neuropathology of the brain, dura, spinal cord and eyes, for NAAG cases and for offices nationwide.
Forensic anthropology & osteology
Skeletal · fixed boneSkeletal and mummified remains, and bone and throat specimens from autopsy, with particular expertise in infants and children.
Forensic imaging
PMCT · radiology · ultra-high resolutionPostmortem CT and radiologic correlation integrated with the autopsy, and ultra-high-resolution specimen imaging.
Forensic odontology
Dental identification · odontologic analysisDental identification and odontologic analysis through NAAG's consulting forensic dentist.
Private, independent & second autopsies
Families · AB 1108 · second opinionsPrivate autopsies for families, independent examinations for in-custody and conflict-of-interest deaths, and second autopsies when the first leaves questions.
Testimony & case conferences
Courts · tribunals · agenciesClear, honest testimony on our own work, and case conferences with investigators and counsel.
Global standing
Influence well beyond California.
NAAG is local to California and known well beyond it.
Courts
Scholarship
Authors of the specialty’s references
NAAG physicians have written and edited standard texts, among them Forensic Pathology: Principles and Practice and Medicolegal Neuropathology: A Color Atlas.
Referral center
Trusted by other offices
Medical examiner and coroner offices across the country send brains, eyes, bone and throat specimens to NAAG’s subspecialty services.
Teaching
Training the next generation
Through Forensic Educator and medical-school faculty appointments, NAAG teaches pathologists, attorneys and law enforcement.
Practice
We dissect the data. We state the facts. We give evidence-based opinions.
“A sloppily done, incomplete autopsy is worse than none because it leads all too frequently to erroneous conclusions.”
Lester Adelson, MDForensic pathologistPhysicians
Specialists, by name.
Board-certified forensic pathologists, a forensic neuropathologist and forensic anthropologists, practicing together under one roof.
Dr. Evan Matshes
Medical Director & Chief Forensic Pathologist
Dr. Deirdre Amaro
Chief Forensic Neuropathologist
Dr. Madeleine Hinkes
Chief Forensic AnthropologistQuestions
Plain answers.
Is forensic pathology only about the dead?
No. Forensic pathology is a medical subspecialty in which physicians with recognized training and board certification use specialized medical knowledge and skill to help solve legal problems involving the living as well as the dead: injuries in children alleged to have been abused, survived strangulation, fracture timing and injury interpretation, as well as the cause and manner of death.
What is NAAG Forensic?
NAAG Forensic PC is a California professional medical corporation, owned and operated by forensic pathologists, that has provided forensic pathology laboratory services since 2015 as a U.S. Department of Defense and law-enforcement contractor. It performs medicolegal autopsies and subspecialty examinations (pediatric forensic pathology, forensic neuropathology, forensic anthropology and osteology, forensic imaging including postmortem CT, and forensic odontology) for law enforcement, the courts and families, from facilities in San Diego and Fresno, California.
Is NAAG an expert-witness referral service or a staffing agency?
No. NAAG does not broker experts and does not place pathologists in other offices. NAAG is a single organization whose own physicians and scientists perform, document and testify on their own work.
Who does NAAG work for?
California sheriff-coroners and other law-enforcement agencies, medical examiner offices across the United States, the U.S. Department of Defense and military justice system, prosecutors, defense attorneys, civil attorneys, and families seeking a private autopsy.
Where is NAAG located?
NAAG's corporate office is at 6335 Ferris Square, Suite C, San Diego, California 92121. NAAG operates forensic facilities in San Diego and Fresno, has an office in Florida, and accepts work from across California, the United States and abroad.
Does NAAG perform private autopsies?
Yes. Families can arrange a private autopsy performed by NAAG's board-certified forensic pathologists, including for loved ones who die outside California. See Private autopsy.
Plain answers from forensic pathologistsAll guides →
The specialtyWhat is forensic pathology? Medicine for the law, for the living and the dead.Forensic pathology is a medical subspecialty, not the study of the dead: board-certified physicians solving legal problems for the living and the dead.For familiesPrivate autopsyHow a private autopsy works: when to request one, who can authorize it, why timing matters, what you receive, and how to choose a qualified forensic pathologist.Second opinionsSecond opinions in forensic pathologyWhen a second forensic pathology opinion is warranted, its forms (records review, second autopsy, Deep Dive), what to gather and who can request one.Infants and childrenPediatric forensic pathologyHow child deaths and injuries should be examined: SUID and SUDC, alleged abusive head trauma, fractures, metabolic bone disease and genetics.Deaths in custodyDeaths in custodyWhat a complete in-custody death autopsy requires, why independence matters, what California AB 1108 changes in 2027, and how families can get one.For familiesThe first 24 hours after an unexpected deathWhat happens after an unexpected death, who takes charge of your loved one, what to ask the coroner, and how to keep the option of a private autopsy open.
Contact
Start with a conversation.
Tell us who you are and, in general terms, what you need. The right member of our team will respond.
Phone1-800-985-5346
Emailconsult@naagforensic.com
Office6335 Ferris Square, Suite C
San Diego, CA 92121
San Diego, CA 92121
Please don't email case records or images. The case request form collects what we need to open your matter; we'll arrange secure transfer of records after that.