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Signs You Need a Professional License Defense Lawyer

Admin • Nov 30, 2020
Doctor and Nurse — Los Angeles, CA — Spiga and Associates
If you are a licensed physician, nurse, pharmacist, chiropractor, or mental health professional, maintaining a valid medical license is critical to retaining your career and right to earn a living in it. Your license may be in jeopardy if any of the following situations arise.

You Have Been Convicted of a Crime

Under California law, the Medical Board of California can suspend or revoke a health care provider's license if they are convicted of a crime that is substantially related to their practice of medicine or their fitness to be a health care provider.
What the Medical Board of California considers substantially related depends on the individual circumstances. The board warns that it does not give legal advice to licensees and that it reviews the records related to every conviction of a health care provider as well as underlying issues.
Therefore, a felony or misdemeanor may provide grounds for disciplinary action against your medical license. Some crimes that may lead to disciplinary action include:
  • Drug crimes
  • DUI
  • Insurance fraud
  • Medical fraud
  • Medical Practice Act violations
  • Medi-Cal violations
  • Murder
  • Prescribing medication illegally
  • Rape
  • Reckless driving
  • Sex crimes
Licensees are required to report to the board if they are charged with a felony or if they are found guilty of any crime. Failing to do so is considered a separate public offense. This requirement also applies if you plead no contest to an offense, so be sure your criminal defense lawyer works in conjunction with your professional license defense lawyer to minimize the risk of losing your license.

Your License Was Suspended in Another State

California law also allows the Medical Board to suspend or revoke a doctor's medical license if his or her license was suspended or revoked in another state. For example, if you are licensed to practice medicine in Arizona and California and the medical board in Arizona suspends your medical license, your license can also be suspended in California.

You Acted With Gross Negligence

If you are charged with medical malpractice or an act of simple negligence, your license may not necessarily be affected. However, if you are charged with gross negligence, your license may be at risk. Gross negligence may imply that you have a disregard for the health or safety of your patients.
Gross negligence may occur in situations, such as:
  • You have a repeated history of offenses
  • You take unilateral action that deviates from the accepted standard of care
  • You fail to properly evaluate patients
  • You fail to order necessary and reasonable diagnostic tests

You Receive Notice You Are Under Investigation

The Medical Board may begin an investigation into your actions if it receives a complaint or report of a possible violation. You will generally receive notice of the investigation against you.
Additionally, you may be asked to attend an interview with investigators. If you discover that you are under investigation or you receive notice of a request for an interview, you should contact a professional license attorney immediately.
Your lawyer may help you prepare for your interview. They can also run interference with the investigators and present information in the light most favorable to you.
Additionally, your lawyer may be able to negotiate an agreement between you and the board while the case is still in an informal status. For example, you may be able to agree to seek alcohol or drug treatment if you have recently developed a problem. Your lawyer may also be able to convince the board that there are mitigating factors that do not warrant disciplinary action.

Learn More About Your Rights and Options

If you find yourself in any of these situations and would like to learn more about your legal rights and options, contact a professional license defense lawyer from Spiga & Associates.
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You see him or her on your television, in your professional journals, and on your home page . . . the “Poster Child.” The Physician existing on the fringe of the profession, who gets arrested for overwriting prescriptions for Schedule II substances . Their example is easy to dismiss. The average M.D. engaged in legitimate practice seemingly has nothing to worry about. This fate befalls the slacker, the greedy, the foolhardy. Don't be so sure, any M.D. who prescribes Schedule II substances as a regular part of their practice is only one adverse patient outcome away from California Medical Board and possibly criminal investigation. For example, Surgeons and Physicians practicing in Emergency Medicine, Oncology, and Pain Management, routinely write hundreds, if not thousands of prescriptions for Schedule II substances. There is no way for a Physician to control the patient’s use of controlled substances, yet a dangerous and influential myth is being propagated that a physician is a fortune teller and can predict which patients will misuse the substances provided. Further complicating the issue is the difficult ethical landscape navigated by Physicians dealing with patients presenting legitimate symptoms demanding treatment with Schedule II and III substances, but who are nevertheless, drug dependent. Long term pain management patients are at particular risk of overdose due to their high tolerances leading to increasing dosages and the difficulty in weaning them off the substances they have become dependent upon. Should a patient die or suffer an adverse outcome that is somehow connected to a prescription for a schedule II substance, a criminal and California Medical Board investigation is sure to follow. Oftentimes the investigation will be spearheaded by investigators for the California Department of Consumer Affairs working in conjunction with local law enforcement but who also work on behalf of the Medical Board of California. These investigators are sworn peace officers and have the power to arrest and working with the Attorney General or local District Attorney also have the ability to bring criminal charges against a Physician. These investigations start out invisibly with scrutiny of CURES II reports detailing a Physician’s prescription history. All patients receiving scheduled substances will be given particular attention. Soon after, the physician will receive a request for patient records, followed by a letter of investigation from a California Department of Consumer Affairs Investigator indicating that a complaint has been made and requesting an interview. They do not inform the Physician of his or her right to counsel or whether the Physician even has the right to refuse the interview. Nor do they inform him or her of their right to review the complaint. Believe it or not, one of the common mistakes Physicians make in dealing with these investigations is not taking it seriously. They will delay responding or not respond at all. Often Physicians confident in their prescribing practices will have a false sense of confidence going in to such an interview and will wing it without consulting consul. Those Physicians learn the error of that approach through hard experience. If you are facing such an inquiry. Take it very seriously, Your medical license is your most important asset. If you have an adverse patient outcome that has come to the attention of your Hospital Administration, The Medical Board of California or local law enforcement, call Spiga and Associates immediately. Because of our 25 years of experience in both Criminal and Administrative defense we are uniquely qualified to defend you and your medical license.
nurse texting
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