Tag Archive for: Kansas And Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Explains Why Physicians Should Think Twice About “Voluntary Suspensions” of Medical Licenses

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I have seen physician’s lives and careers devastated because they agreed to a “voluntary suspension” of their medical license or a restriction on their license while the medical board investigates allegations of misconduct. While the physician under investigation believed that the voluntary suspension would be brief and that it would put them in a good light with investigators, both assumptions were incorrect. In fact, the suspension lasted far longer than initially hoped, and agreeing to the voluntary suspension ended up having a host of negative consequences.

If you are a physician in Kansas or Missouri facing an investigation that jeopardizes your professional license, call attorney Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation. Do not agree to any suspension of any kind or speak to an investigator without an attorney to defend you. Your career, reputation, and livelihood are at risk, and the challenge facing you is one you cannot navigate alone.

Expect Suspensions to Last Longer Than Promised

Physicians under investigation are sometimes asked to sign an Interim Stipulated Order (ISO) or Interim Consent Order (ICO) accepting a voluntary restriction on their license or, even worse, suspending their practice pending the outcome of the investigation. These requests are usually accompanied by a suggestion that the suspension will be brief. However, these investigations often take a year or longer, especially in the case of physicians. Additionally, there are other ramifications of a “temporary suspension,” such as:

Reports to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB)

If you consent to an interim restriction on your license, that restriction will be reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). You will have to deal with any consequences of the report to the NPDB on your career, even though no allegation has been proven.

Withdrawal of Board Certification, Credentialing, and Employment

If your medical license is temporarily suspended, you should anticipate that your board certifications will also likely be withdrawn. The suspension of the license and withdrawal of board certification will frequently result in an employer terminating the employee as well. Accordingly, a voluntary suspension ends up being a death sentence for your career.

DEA Registrations

If you are a prescribing physician, you must also consider the serious impact of a restricted license on your DEA Registration. To hold a DEA Registration, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) requires every DEA Registrant physician to possess a medical license granting state authority to prescribe controlled substances. So if you agree to a restriction on your prescribing privileges or consent to voluntarily withdraw from your medical practice while you await the outcome of an investigation, you should anticipate a request to surrender your DEA Registration. 

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now

You have worked too hard to attain your professional license.  If you are a physician under investigation and your licensing Board requests that you consent to restrictions on your medical license, you need to know that the restriction will probably last more than a few months and there are numerous other consequences to consider depending upon your type of practice and level of licensure.

An inquiry from a licensing board means that your livelihood is in jeopardy. Contacting an experienced licensing attorney to help you through this process and can mean the difference between getting back to helping your patients or clients and losing your career forever.

Kansas and Missouri professional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger is prepared to advocate for your best interests and defend you. Call Attorney Sanger at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation with an attorney experienced dealing with licensing issues.

 

 

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Explains the Effects of a DUI or DWI on Your Career as Medical Professional

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In Kansas, it’s called a DUI. In Missouri, it’s called a DWI. Either way, it can spell big problems for your career as a medical professional. I have helped many medical professionals through the licensure and employment issues associated with an arrest for driving while impaired and can help you as well. But too many professionals fail to attain the help of an experienced licensing attorney when they receive a notice of investigation or violation.  This failure ends up making the state’s job far too easy. Because I get so many calls asking about the career effects of a DUI/DWI conviction, I wrote the following blog post to explain the many ramifications.

If you are a professional in Kansas or Missouri facing an investigation that jeopardizes your professional license, call attorney Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation. Your career, reputation, and livelihood are at risk, and the challenge facing you is one you cannot work your way through this alone.

The Effects of a DUI/DWI

There is no question that a DUI/DWI conviction can have a significant impact on your life. While for some people it is a sign that they have a drinking problem, for others, it signifies a one-time mistake in judgment. Regardless, it has a greater impact on those in the medical field than those in other professions, as medical professionals have a heightened responsibility to appear free from intoxicating substances and often have state licensing boards that look unkindly on any criminal conviction.  Having advised countless medical professionals regarding their recent arrest for DUI/DWI, here are the most common effects:

Professional Licensure Loss, Suspension, or Discipline– A medical professional often has to report an arrest and usually must report a conviction to his or her licensing body. You will want to consult with an experienced licensing attorney before making the report. You want to avoid doing more damage than you have to in making this report, and an experienced attorney that has a relationship with the board can help you frame the issue in a light most favorable to the license holder.

Contractual Requirements—Many medical employers see a DUI/DWI arrest or conviction as a signal of an employee with a substance abuse problem. Many hospitals and clinics require employees to disclose any arrest within a certain amount of time. Again, this is the sort of disclosure you want to make with the help of an experienced licensing attorney. Having worked with many medical professionals on similar issues, a skilled attorney likely knows how to disclose in a way least harmful to your career.  That said, some employers make criminal charges a ground for suspension or even termination, so you will want to review your employee handbook with your attorney as well.

Lack of transportation—While your DUI/DWI is pending, you will likely be prevented from driving for a period, often months. This is an inconvenience and makes getting to and from work difficult. It can also be independent grounds for termination if your position requires a valid driver’s license.

Leave Issues—An arrest for DUI/DWI will likely require your presence at least one or two hearings. If you go to trial to contest your case, you will likely spend another few days in court. If you are convicted, you may have to serve days or weeks in jail depending on the severity of your case. Even if you accept a plea agreement, that too will require a hearing. In the end, you may have to miss several days of work, which your employer may not look upon warmly.

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now

You have worked too hard to attain your professional license.  Whether it is a medical, counseling, nursing, accounting, veterinary or any other type of license, a DUI/DWI can mean that your livelihood is in jeopardy. Contacting an experienced licensing attorney to help you through this process and can mean the difference between getting back to helping your patients or clients and losing your career forever.

Kansas and Missouri professional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger is prepared to advocate for your best interests and defend you. Call Attorney Sanger at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation with an attorney experienced dealing with licensing issues.

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Explains: Is My Licensure Case Criminal or Civil?

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Medical professionals often come to my office for a consultation and one of the first questions they ask is “is this a criminal or civil?” I don’t blame them for being confused, as depending on the conduct in question, it could end up being civil, criminal, or both. Because I so often get questions about the intricacies of these matters, I have written the following blog post to explain the difference between civil and criminal matters and the legal implications of your disciplinary board matter.

If you are a professional in Kansas or Missouri facing an allegation of misconduct or an investigation, call attorney Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation. Your career, reputation, and livelihood are at risk, and the challenge facing you is one you cannot work your way through alone.

The Difference Between Civil and Criminal Matters

To start the basics, a civil matter is one where the state seeks to take some “property” from you.  Now, you may think of property like physical property such as a car or land, but you also have a property interest in your license as a medical professional. You also have a property interest in your good name and reputation. You’ll remember from the U.S. Constitution’s 5th Amendment that the federal government cannot take your life, liberty, or property without due process of law.  The same holds true for state governments.  As a result, the state cannot take your professional license or your interest in your reputation without “due process.” Due process means an opportunity to know what the accusations are against you, an opportunity to review the evidence against you, and a hearing where you and your attorney can confront or attack those accusations and evidence with your own evidence. A civil matter may result in having some property—like your license—taken or suspended or having a fine imposed.

Criminal matters involve having your liberty taken by the state—they result in the accused going to jail if he or she is convicted.  A district attorney files a criminal matter in court, and you would usually learn of the charges by being served by a police officer or by being arrested. Because a loss of liberty, incarceration, is viewed as a more severe deprivation, more due process is required.  The standard of proof—beyond a reasonable doubt—is higher in a criminal case, a jury usually judges guilt or innocence, and the hearing or trial is much more formal.

If you receive a letter in the mail from a state administrative agency indicating that a licensure action or investigation has initiated against you, that administrative matter is civil in nature and not criminal. The letter signals that the state is starting your due process rights and alerting you to your opportunity to engage in that due process.

When Criminal and Civil Matters Overlap

If you have watched any amount of television, you have probably seen a crime drama where the criminal being arrested is given his Miranda warning of, “you have the right to remain silent, everything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”  While the crime drama may be just television, those rights are real.  That warning is relevant to you as well.

Take as an example, a pharmacist who is giving his relatives opioids for their pain without a prescription. If the state pharmacy board is alerted to this practice, the pharmacist will likely receive a notice of accusations in the mail, initiating his due process rights. That letter is a civil matter. If he is found to have violated the pharmacy regulations by a preponderance of the evidence—by a likelihood of at least 51%—he will have a civil penalty such as a fine, suspension, or license revocation. However, distributing opioids without a prescription is also a crime.

If the pharmacist in the above example admits in his civil hearing before the pharmacy board that he has been distributing opioids, that information can be used against him criminally. A statement made in a civil hearing, like any statement, can be used against you. The Assistant Attorney General who prosecuted the pharmacist’s licensing issue can simply hand the transcript of his admission to an Assistant District Attorney who can then charge the pharmacist with drug distribution.

As I stated above, the burden of proof in a criminal case is “beyond a reasonable doubt,” which is much higher than the civil hearing’s “preponderance of the evidence” standard. But if the pharmacist has admitted to distributing the opioids, that unequivocal admission will likely meet either standard.

As a result, a civil matter can easily turn into a criminal one if the conduct alleged violates both the state regulations that govern your medical field as well as the criminal statutes. While the example above dealt with opioid distribution, I have also seen civil cases transform into criminal ones in cases alleging sex with a patient, boundary violations, and financial transgressions.  Accordingly, it is a massive mistake to think you can handle your civil hearing alone or that you can play along with the investigation to make things go away. You are just digging yourself into a deeper hole and playing into the state’s hands when you attempt that sort of foolish strategy.

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now

You have worked too hard to attain your professional license.  Contacting an experienced licensing attorney to help you through the misconduct hearing process, explain the criminal implications of any allegations against you, and can mean the difference between getting back to helping your patients and losing your career forever.

Kansas and Missouri professional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger is prepared to advocate for your best interests and defend you. Call Attorney Sanger at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation with an attorney experienced dealing with nursing licensing issues.

 

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Discusses Trends in Medical Board Licensing Cases—“Health Coaching”

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People often ask me what sort of trends I see in medical license defense. One of the most common areas revolves around medical professionals acting as “health coaches” in areas that are beyond their licensure. What usually happens is that a person begins to advise beyond their licensed specialty, and they tell themselves that this advice is allowable because it is merely “coaching” and not actually the practice of medicine. As you can imagine, the line between acting within a license and “coaching” patients illegally is blurry, at best, and crossing it can lead to the revocation of your hard-earned license. I routinely see clients accused of practicing medicine without a license and false advertising.

If you are licensed medical professional in Kansas or Missouri facing an investigation, call attorney Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation. Your career is at risk, and you cannot work your way through this alone.

What is the Problem with Health Coaching?

Health coaching is a relatively new and amorphous field that encourages healthy and sustainable living through changes in diet, exercise, outlook, and lifestyle.  It is a field that lives in the margins between other already established professions. It is similar to medicine, nutrition, psychology, and other fields such as massage therapy and physical therapy. The problem is that each of those fields already has a body of knowledge, training, and expertise that is required of its practitioners, and each field requires a license. While health coaching is not illegal, in practice it often drifts into one of these other professions’ areas of control. When that boundary is transgressed, licensure issues arise.

As a medical professional, you know that at the core of the practice of medicine are two actions—diagnosis and treatment. A medical professional can diagnosis or determine a problem and prescribe treatment for that problem, whether it is a medication or a therapy.

As a hypothetical, imagine you have a chiropractic license but are well read about nutrition and have a passion for helping people through their diets. There may be an impulse to start advertising yourself as a “health coach” to begin working with patients who have issues that you cannot treat through chiropractic care alone. While it may be alright to encourage people to eat a balanced diet and to encourage them to avoid unhealthy foods, but when you start telling them what sort of food they should eat to treat a particular physical ailment, you are going beyond coaching and are actually working as a medical doctor or nutritionist. When you begin diagnosing and treating a condition outside of your chiropractic licensure, you are setting yourself up for a complaint that puts your entire license at risk.

How will you know if you are crossing that line? If you are treating a condition, you will likely be reviewing lab tests, looking at genetic data, or prescribing specific treatment based on medical questionnaires or family health history. That sort of review suggests that you are trying to diagnose and treat a problem. If that treatment or diagnosis is in an area outside of your area of licensure, you are risking your license. Similarly, if you are advertising for this sort of treatment and lack the licensure to provide it, you are risking a false or misleading advertising claim.

While a patient may be happy with the “coaching” you have given them, those practicing in the field you have drifted into have a serious incentive to file a claim about you to the applicable Kansas or Missouri licensing board. Those boards are also keenly interested in protecting the sanctity of their fields and are unlikely to give you the benefit of the doubt when you cross into their regulatory area.

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now

Any medical provider or clinic in Kansas or Missouri contacted by a state licensing board should contact experienced counsel immediately. Your business and license to practice are in jeopardy, and these initial moments are crucial. Trying to be helpful or “playing along” may seem like the easy way to go, but it may not be in your best interest. You have no obligation to speak to anyone without counsel present, and talking to an investigator without counsel may be a fatal error. Contacting an experienced licensing attorney to help you through this process and can mean the difference between getting back to helping your patients and a license suspension or revocation.

If you are a medical professional in Kansas or Missouri and are worried about your license, call attorney Sanger now.

Kansas and Missouri professional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger is prepared to advocate for your best interests and defend you. Call Attorney Sanger at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation with an attorney experienced dealing with licensing issues.

 

 

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Discusses Trends in Veterinary Licensing—Telemedicine

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Like all professions, veterinary medicine is now online. Just ten years ago, there was insufficient broadband and infrastructure to support a genuinely on-line veterinary practice. Now both of those problems have been solved, and veterinarians have almost boundless ability to interact with patients. But while the technological boundaries have fallen, the legal and licensure boundaries remain.

Where is the line between illegally practicing veterinary medicine in a state without a license and helping a long-time patient who is on vacation in another state? The line between legal and illegal practice is not as bright as it was before the internet, as patients can now reach out to you for advice from around the world. With this significant advantage comes extra regulatory scrutiny. Crossing an already blurry regulatory line can lead to the revocation of your hard-earned veterinary license, especially when the allegation involves the illegal or improper prescription of medications. I routinely see clients accused of practicing veterinary medicine without a license, and they usually come to me devastated.

If you are licensed veterinarian in Kansas or Missouri facing an investigation, call attorney Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation. Your career is at risk, and you cannot work your way through this alone.

What is the Challenge with Tele-Veterinary Medicine?

The critical thing to remember is that as a Kansas or Missouri veterinarian, your veterinary medicine license is tied to a specific state. While your clients may travel and rely on you wherever they go, your license is constricted by the boundaries of its issuing state.

Second, as a veterinarian, you should look to the guidelines set by American Veterinary Medicine Association, or AVMA, for whether your behavior is reasonable. In this area, the AVMA focusses on the veterinary-client-patient-relationship or VCPR. The VCPR is significant, as it provides a reasonable picture of what will be viewed as legitimate telemedicine.

Under the AVMA’s model, the VCPR establishes when the veterinarian has an ongoing relationship with the patient animal that is sufficient to allow for diagnosis and treatment planning. Given this guideline, it is reasonable to provide long-distance advice to a client about their pet while they are out of state, as the veterinarian in question has an ongoing treatment relationship with the patient animal.

That said, the opposite facts may lead to an allegation of malpractice. If a prospective client calls a veterinarian from out of state about a patient animal that the veterinarian has never treated, it is unlikely that any VCPR exists. Accordingly, that sort of treatment should be avoided.

Even if the there is a VCPR, distance creates another challenge. While a veterinarian may be able to make a general diagnosis based on some “tell-tale” symptoms and the patient animal’s health history, that diagnosis still suffers from not having the patient animal present for an examination. Claims of malpractice can arise when a veterinarian does not meet the standard of care for a given situation, and the standard of care does not differentiate between a long-distance diagnosis and one done in-person in a clinic. While not a silver bullet, having tele-veterinary medicine patients sign a disclosure acknowledging the limits of a distance diagnosis may prove useful.

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now

Any veterinarian in Kansas or Missouri contacted by a state licensing board should contact experienced counsel immediately. Contacting an experienced licensing attorney to help you through this process and can mean the difference between getting back to helping your patients and a license suspension or revocation.

If you are a veterinarian in Kansas or Missouri and are worried about your license, call attorney Sanger now.

Kansas and Missouri professional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger is prepared to advocate for your best interests and defend you. Call Attorney Sanger at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation with an attorney experienced dealing with licensing issues.

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Explains Licensing Threats for Chiropractors

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Chiropractors are a highly-trained and highly-respected members of the medical community. The key to practicing as a chiropractor is your state-issued chiropractic license. For a variety of reasons, patients sometimes make false claims of misconduct against chiropractors; other times, unfortunately, chiropractors engage in misconduct themselves. Either way, aggressive, experienced licensing counsel is critical to defending your license and livelihood from a suspension or revocation. I wrote the following post to outline why discipline could occur and what you should do if an allegation arises.

If you are licensed medical professional in Kansas or Missouri facing an investigation, call attorney Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation. Your career is at risk, and you cannot work your way through this alone.

The Most Common Accusations Against Chiropractors in Kansas and Missouri

I have years of experience in front of both the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts and the Missouri Board of Chiropractic Examiners. These two agencies see many different allegations, but they commonly fall into the following categories:

Sexual misconduct—sexually abusing a patient or having a consensual relationship with a patient are both common misconduct claims against chiropractors. This is particularly a problem in this field, as the work involves touching patients, often in a private or mostly-private setting.

Fraud—insurance fraud, over-billing, and charging for procedures that were not performed are all frequent allegations. Given the complexity of medical billing and the difficulty in finding qualified and trained staff, recurring mistakes made by staff can too easily be construed as an act of fraud by a chiropractor.

Prescription Medications—Over-prescribing medications and providing prescription medication to those who do not medically require them are both increasingly prevalent complaints against chiropractors.  There is increased scrutiny on all medical professionals with prescription privileges due to the opioid epidemic in both Kansas and Missouri.

Negligence—Negligence is defined as a failure to meet the standard of care reasonably expected under the circumstances. Not all patients’ conditions improve after receiving chiropractic care, and patients sometimes wrongly blame their chiropractors for any decline.

Criminal Convictions—Convictions for some crimes may result in a collateral license action, especially if the offense suggests that the chiropractor may have a drug or alcohol problem, cannot safely interact with the public, or cannot be trusted with money or confidential information.

Can the State of Missouri or Kansas Just Take Your License?

No. Your chiropractic license is your property. The United States Constitution’s Fifth Amendment guarantees that the government cannot deprive you of life, liberty, or property without due process. But what does “due process” mean? While in a criminal trial you have a right to a jury and other elaborate processes, a license action only requires a hearing before an administrative hearing officer or board. In this context, due process means that the state must afford you notice of all the allegations against you, an opportunity to prevent your defense to a hearing officer or board, and consideration of your position. But make no mistake, an administrative hearing is just as contentious as a criminal trial, and your career hangs in the balance.

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now

Any medical provider or clinic in Kansas or Missouri contacted by a state investigator or licensing board should contact experienced counsel immediately. Your business and license to practice are in jeopardy, and these initial moments are crucial. You have no obligation to speak to anyone without counsel present, and talking to an investigator without counsel may be a fatal error. Contacting an experienced licensing attorney to help you through this process and can mean the difference between getting back to helping your patients and a license suspension or revocation.

Kansas and Missouri professional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger is prepared to advocate for your best interests and defend you. Call Attorney Sanger at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation with an attorney experienced dealing with licensing issues.

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Discusses Medical Board Licensing Cases—Negligence Allegations

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While there are many types of allegations against medical professionals, what I most commonly see are negligence claims. I think that society’s high expectations for the medical profession make this type of allegation especially prevalent.  Patients begin treatment with lofty hopes of being completely healed in a short period of time, even when that result is clearly unrealistic. Because there is a natural desire to find blame when things do not go as people hope, negligence claims often ensue when a patient’s health does not improve to the expected level. As we all know, however, many factors influence a patients’ ability to heal, and a failure to heal does not necessarily imply that the doctor was negligent. Many times, the patient’s poor health beforehand or a failure to follow up with prescribed therapies is the real reason the patient did not recover.  In the end, society’s expectations for medical professionals far exceed the degree of accountability we show for our own health.

Medical professionals must understand the theory of negligence to avoid career-ending complaints. Because I receive so many questions about this sort of claim, I have written the following blog post to explain the basics.     

How Can a Negligence Accusation Cost Me My South Carolina Medical License?

What is negligence?  To be found negligent, a medical professional must fail to meet the standard of care for a patient that would reasonably apply under the circumstances, resulting in some harm. As a medical professional appearing before a medical board or hearing officer, you will have to show that you were not negligent. For the state to prove negligence at a hearing, it will have to demonstrate that you had a duty to care for the patient bringing the allegation, you failed to meet the standard of care for treating the patient under the circumstances, and your failure caused them harm.

As I am sure you have gathered, the negligence standard is not a well-defined “bright line.” Instead, it is a subjective standard, meaning what is “reasonable” will depend upon the person judging reasonableness and the circumstances in which the conduct occurred. For example, a battlefield medic operating under hours of withering enemy fire will be held to a lower standard of care than a well-rested physician working in a well-staffed, cutting-edge medical facility.

Because there is so much room for interpretation in the negligence standard, it is vital that you have a skilled licensing attorney help you through the hearing to make sure facts are portrayed in a light most favorable to you and that witnesses are skillfully cross-examined.

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now

Any medical provider in Kansas or Missouri contacted by a state licensing board should contact experienced counsel immediately. Your license to practice is in jeopardy, and these initial moments are crucial. Trying to be helpful or “playing along” may seem like the easy way to go, but it may not be in your best interest. You have no obligation to speak to anyone without counsel present, and talking to an investigator without counsel may be a fatal error. Contacting an experienced licensing attorney to help you through this process and can mean the difference between getting back to helping your patients and a license suspension or revocation.

If you are a medical professional in Kansas or Missouri and are worried about your license, call attorney Sanger now.

Kansas and Missouri professional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger is prepared to advocate for your best interests and defend you. Call Attorney Sanger at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation with an attorney experienced dealing with licensing issues.

 

 

 

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Discusses Trends in Medical Board Licensing Cases—Opioid Issues

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People used to ask me what sort of trends I am seeing in medical license defense. I do not hear that question as much anymore, as you do not have to be involved in medical licensing issues to know that there is an opioid crisis in the United States. Physicians are perceived as the root of the problem and accusations of over-prescription of opioids and other “pain pills” are rampant. This perception tracks with what I am seeing in medical licensing cases, as both the Kansas and Missouri medical boards are taking a hard line on physicians accused of over-prescribing pain medications or failing to adequately supervise employees in clinics accused of becoming “pill mills.”

 

If you are licensed medical professional in Kansas or Missouri facing an investigation or medical board disciplinary action, call attorney Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation. Your career is at risk and you cannot work your way through this alone.

What Are the Trends in Opioid Licensure Enforcement?

In general, the public is the primary source of complaints about physicians.  These complaints range from the serious and valid to the frivolous and vindictive. Regardless of the complaint’s validity, the accused physician must take it seriously, as the majority of complaints result in some form of reprimand, often with a temporary or permanent loss of license. Again, regardless of an accusation’s validity, you must reach out for experienced counsel’s help immediately if you are accused.

Retaliatory complaints are common. These are patients that were denied opioid prescriptions because of abuse. Basically, the physician actually met the standard of care in these cases.  However, these former patients attempt to hold physicians hostage by threatening complaints to licensing boards once the physician ends their ability to get more pain killers. This is fairly common drug-seeking behavior by desperate people. As crazy and backwards as this situation sounds, an allegation’s baselessness does not mean that it cannot have serious repercussions.

Another form of complaint arises from negligent supervision of medical clinic staff. Even if a physician is responsible when he or she writes prescriptions, he or she also has a duty to adequately supervise staff working under his or her license.  These employees can be susceptible to drug seeking patients and illegally give access to opioids in an effort to make extra money, in exchange for sex, or due to their own negligence. Regardless of the source of the problem, employees working under a physician’s license can threaten that license with their own misconduct.

Obviously, sometimes physicians themselves are overprescribing opioids. This sort of misconduct can be driven by the same reasons as described above regarding staff. The good news is that there are many opportunities to derail efforts to suspend and revoke physicians’ licenses. An attorney’s vigorous defense, careful review of all evidence, and experience before the Kansas and Missouri medical boards can make the difference between revocation of a license and just probation.

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now

Any medical provider or clinic in Kansas or Missouri contacted by the state medical board or DEA should contact experienced counsel immediately. Your business and license to practice are in jeopardy, and these initial moments are crucial. Trying to be helpful or “playing along” may seem like the easy way to go, but it may not be in your best interest. You have no obligation to speak to anyone without counsel present, and speaking to an investigator without counsel may be a fatal error. Contacting an experienced licensing attorney to help you through this process and can mean the difference between getting back to helping your patients and a suspension or revocation of your license.

If you are a medical professional in Kansas or Missouri and are worried about opioid related misconduct costing you your career, call attorney Sanger now.

Kansas and Missouri professional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger is prepared to advocate for your best interests and defend you. Call Attorney Sanger at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation with an attorney experienced dealing with licensing issues.

 

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Discusses Explains—Teaching License Defense

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The teachers I represent are extremely proud of being a member of this noble profession. That said, they also reiterate everything we all know about teaching. It can be thankless, challenging work for too little pay. In Missouri and Kansas, teachers sometimes run into another challenge—licensure issues. Too many teachers think that they can work through discipline and licensure issues by “being helpful” and providing information to the school district or state investigators; this is a horrible mistake that could cost you your career. If you are licensed teacher in Kansas or Missouri facing an investigation or disciplinary action, call attorney Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation. Your career is at risk and you cannot work your way through this alone.

Common Misconduct Allegations in Kansas and Missouri

Unfortunately, teachers are particularly susceptible to misconduct allegations. They are often forced to make disciplinary decisions about students; in turn, false allegations arise in retaliation. Students and parent have a unique ability to raise these concerns, as teachers often work with students without any other adult witness present. Without that sort of credible witness testimony, disproving an allegation becomes challenging.

In my practice, I most frequently see the following allegations:

Sexual misconduct—any sexual contact between a teacher and a student is inappropriate. That said, otherwise innocuous pats on the back and friendly hugs can easily be construed as sexual misconduct later. Given with how justifiably serious this sort of behavior is taken, any allegation of sexual misconduct must be addressed immediately, as they frequently result in loss of a teaching license.

Physical abuse of students—for reasons similar to sexual abuse, physical abuse—hitting or corporal punishment—is taken very seriously and is quite difficult to disprove.

Drug and alcohol abuse—alcoholism, DUI, and being under the influence in the school environment are all allegations that can cost a teacher his or her license. As opposed to the prior two categories, however, they are easier to challenge with the help of an experienced licensure attorney.

Misuse of school property or privileges—I frequently represent teachers accused of taking school property for their own use. This can be innocuous activity, such as tutoring students on school property for pay, or more nefarious, such as theft of school supplies or vehicles.

Sharing or using students’ confidential information—allegations that you shared a student’s confidential information, or that you used it for your own gain, are serious.  There are federal laws protecting student educational records, most notably FERPA.

If any of these allegations are made against you, your license is in jeopardy. Your license is your property, and the U.S., Kansas, and Missouri Constitutions all provide you a right to “due process” before the government takes your property—your teaching license—from you.  Due process means that you have a right to review all evidence against you, to challenge that evidence, and a hearing to state your position. Having an attorney by your side to protect your due process interests is vital.

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now

Any Kansas or Missouri teacher contacted by the local or state board of education about misconduct should contact experienced counsel immediately. Your license is in jeopardy, and these initial moments are crucial. Trying to be helpful or “playing along” may seem like the easy way to go, but it may not be in your best interest. You have no obligation to speak to anyone without counsel present, and speaking to an investigator without counsel may be a fatal error. Contacting an experienced licensing attorney to help you through this process and can mean the difference between getting back to helping your students suspension or revocation of your license.

If you are a teacher in Kansas or Missouri and are worried about misconduct costing you your career, call attorney Sanger now.

Kansas and Missouri professional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger is prepared to advocate for your best interests and defend you. Call Attorney Sanger at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation with an attorney experienced dealing with licensing issues.

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Discusses Licensing Issues for Optometrists

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Being an optometrist means having a respected career, a good livelihood, and your community’s respect. But because optometry is a licensed profession in Missouri and Kansas, all of that can be derailed by a disciplinary issue resulting in a suspension or revocation of that license.

Complaints about an optometrist usually arise from the public. They can be frivolous and lack merit, or they can be serious and based on significant evidence. It does not matter which category your complaint falls into, both frivolous and serious complaints can result in significant disciplinary action unless they are defended vigorously by experienced licensing attorney.

If you are licensed medical professional in Kansas or Missouri facing an investigation or medical board disciplinary action, call attorney Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation. Your career is at risk and you cannot work your way through this alone.

Common Licensure Complaints

Sexual misconduct—any sexual contact between an optometrist and a patient is inappropriate. That said, otherwise innocuous pats on the back and friendly hugs can easily be construed as sexual misconduct later, especially when a patient has an axe to grind regarding a bill they do not want to pay or when a patient’s own advances are rebuked. This sort of conduct is always serious and is never just brushed aside.

Criminal convictions—even if there is no connection to the optometrist’s practice, criminal convictions for DUI, theft, violent crimes, domestic violence, child abuse, or any other crime of moral turpitude can trigger a licensing investigation. If criminal charges are pending, an optometrist faces the challenge of defending his or her license while not saying anything in the context of the licensing matter that could impact his or her criminal case. This is a delicate situation that will require the assistance of expert counsel.

Drug and alcohol abuse—allegations of alcoholism, DUI, or drug use can all result in licensure issues for an optometrist, especially if those allegations arise in any relation to their work.  For example, a DUI may have no inherent connection to an optometrist’s work, but if the arrest occurred a half hour prior to the optometrist seeing a patient, it may have implications on her practice.

Misuse prescription privileges—issuing unnecessary prescriptions or issuing them negligently has serious, even criminal, consequences. These allegations are skyrocketing as a result of the nation’s opioid epidemic. Allegations of this nature require immediate, expert legal defense.

Sharing patients’ confidential information—allegations that you shared a patient’s confidential information or that you used it for your own gain, are serious.  There are federal laws protecting patients’ medical records, most notably HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Privacy Act of 1996.

Negligent supervision—your employees’ conduct implicates your license. If your clients engage in any of the misconduct listed above and that misconduct implicates a lack of supervision or negligent supervision, it may result in an investigation into your practice and licensure.

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now

Any optometrists in Kansas or Missouri contacted by an investigator should contact experienced counsel immediately. Your business and license to practice are in jeopardy, and these initial moments are crucial. Trying to be helpful or “playing along” may seem like the easy way to go, but it may not be in your best interest. You have no obligation to speak to anyone without counsel present, and speaking to an investigator without counsel may be a fatal error. Contacting an experienced licensing attorney to help you through this process and can mean the difference between getting back to helping your patients and a suspension or revocation of your license.

If you are an optometrist in Kansas or Missouri and are worried about misconduct costing you your career, call attorney Sanger now.

Kansas and Missouri professional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger is prepared to advocate for your best interests and defend you. Call Attorney Sanger at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation with an attorney experienced dealing with licensing issues.