Tag Archive for: Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney

Need a Counselor? There’s an App for that

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Reaping the benefits of talk therapy is now easier than ever before. All a prospective patient has to do is download a mobile application, or app for short, pay a fee and gain access to thousands of therapists across the globe. Health insurance may also help defray or even pay the bulk of the therapist’s fees subject to the transmittal of a small co-pay.

A relationship between an online therapist and a client comes with similar ethical obligations as a traditional face-to-face relationship might. However, the uniqueness of the online client-therapist interaction creates additional problems to which the therapist must give significant consideration and care. Failing to navigate these relatively unchartered waters carefully may result in facing disciplinary hearings for ethical violations. In short, online counseling presents a way for the therapist to reach clients who might otherwise not have the chance to engage in much-needed therapy; however, the latest innovation in counseling could trap the unwary in a difficult ethical dilemma.

Kansas and Missouri professional disciplinary defense attorney Danielle Sanger is dedicated to protecting you, your family, and your way of life from the clutches of licensing discipline. Licensing disciplinary actions are dissimilar to most legal controversies in that the decision to render disciplinary action is left to the discretion of a panel of board members or an administrative law judge. The laws and regulations governing the administrative law rules in Kansas and Missouri are equally complicated and confusing, even for highly educated and sophisticated people like therapists. Therefore, hiring an attorney who understands the administrative law procedure is insufficient. To successfully defend your professional license, you need an attorney who has a practice devoted to defending people’s professional licenses like Attorney Danielle Sanger.

In-person talk therapy sessions can strip the client to her or his core and expose the emotional and psychological stressors hampering the client’s wellbeing. Anonymity is not an option, and the client cannot hide from the probing questions a therapist asks to bring emotional baggage to the fore and help the client heal. By contrast, online therapy is not real in the sense that it is not face-to-face in the same room but through the medium of the internet. Online therapy distorts the picture that allows the patient to hide behind a veneer and gives the therapist a sense of distance which could minimize the significance of the client-therapist relationship.

Notwithstanding the artificial feel or appearance online therapy sessions might present, the legal implications of offering online therapy are very real. To protect themselves from allegations of unethical behavior, overreaching, and misconduct, counselors must use a carefully and thoroughly crafted informed consent document that thoroughly describes the nature of the relationship as well as the risks associated with online counseling and the potential cost of the sessions. Toward that end, therapists should explain to their clients:

  • the nature of the therapy services to be provided,
  • the potential benefits and risks associated with the particular treatment,
  • defining how treatment goals are reached,
  • cost of therapy, including fees the therapists receive, and
  • how to discuss or dispute the prices or quality of the services rendered.

Online therapy creates an artificial sense of bonding. Despite the physical distance, therapists must disclose to their online patients under what circumstances a therapist has to warn others about potential self-inflicted harm or the possibility of harming others.

Therapists must be greatly concerned with patient confidentiality and privacy. All therapists must protect their clients’ confidences at all costs. The duty to safeguard client confidences extends to online therapy as well. Therapists must be certain that their technology is up-to-date and protects their clients’ information from hackers and other threats that can undermine the sanctity of the therapist-client privilege.

Learn to Grow Your Business Online Ethically

Online therapy sessions present a wonderful new method of marketing a business while reaching out to people who need help. If you are a therapist who questions the ethical considerations of online therapy sessions or is facing professional discipline because of an allegation of unethical or unprofessional behavior during an online therapy session, call Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney today at 785-979-4353 today.

Allegations of Misconduct have Wide-Ranging Consequences

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Physicians and other medical licensees who are the subject of misconduct complaints at a hospital may face licensing discipline based on the outcome of the complaint. Physicians must appreciate that their way of life depends on their commitment to acting appropriately in all circumstances, including when practicing medicine under the privileges at a hospital. Even one small and seemingly insignificant misstep could result in disciplinary action from the medical facility and at the licensing board. Therefore, physicians who are under suspicion or investigation for a violation of hospital by-laws must retain a professional licensing attorney.

Danielle Sanger, Esq. is a professional licensing attorney who practices administrative law in Kansas and Missouri. Attorney Sanger is well-versed in the nuances of the laws invoked during disciplinary hearings in both states through her vast experience representing physicians, nurses, and other medical licensees, in addition to representing licensees from a variety of other professions. Attorney Sanger does not dabble in this area of the law. Instead, she dedicated her entire law practice to representing professional licensees facing professional discipline.

Based on her family members’ travails with regulatory boards and boards of professional registration, Attorney Sanger understands all-too-well how people can get lost in the administrative process, which deprives them of their capacity to earn a living, care for their family, or have a career in the profession they selected. Consequently, Attorney Sanger embarked upon her career as a private attorney to help people fight through the administrative law process in Kansas and Missouri.

Hospitals have a legal obligation to prevent immediate harm to their employees. Typically, physicians are not employees of a hospital, with the notable exception of hospitalists.  Concomitant with the duty prevent immediate injury is the hospital’s duty to investigate claims of wrongdoing, such as sexual harassment for example, and then work diligently to prevent future harm to its employees upon learning of the alleged transgression.

The remedial actions taken by the hospital must be limited to remediate the harm. However, corrective actions taken by hospitals can conflict with a physician’s due process rights and rights conveyed under the hospital’s by-laws. A physician suspected of misconduct has a constitutional due process right in his or her medical license as well as the privilege to practice in a hospital before the doctor’s rights, and privileges can be lawfully terminated. Additionally, the federal civil rights act grants physicians a statutory right to relief in court if a hospital interferes with the physician’s rights provided that the hospital is a public medical facility. Also, the U.S. Constitution guarantees that physicians have rights to due process before a public hospital revokes the doctor’s privileges.

The due process rights enjoyed by physicians as license holders guarantees the physician the opportunity for a fair hearing on the allegations, a right to be heard, a right to confront the physician’s accusers and cross-examine them along with the right to present evidence in support of the physician’s case. The due process rights of a physician are not as extensive as a criminal defendant’s rights to a trial by jury, but there is substantial congruency between the two.

Relatedly, there is a conflict between the hospital’s duty to prevent harm when the hospital employs a summary suspension process and the doctor’s rights to be heard in opposition. A summary suspension could lead to the impression that the doctor is not fully competent as a medical professional and irreparably damage the doctor’s right to earn a living. Additionally, a suspension or revocation of hospital privileges will result in an investigation conducted by the Board of Registration of Medicine and which could trigger attempts at disciplinary action.

Contact Attorney Sanger Immediately if You are Threatened with Discipline

Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a consultation if you are a physician threatened with losing your privileges to practice in a hospital due to allegations of misconduct to learn about your rights and how Attorney Sanger will fight to protect them.

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Explains the Effects of a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit on a Medical License

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I often counsel physicians who are in the midst of a medical malpractice case. Most commonly, their attorney in the malpractice lawsuit asks them to consult with a licensing attorney because the facts arising in the malpractice case may give rise to discipline in the form of a suspension or revocation of their medical license.  They usually ask whether being sued for malpractice means that they will also lose their license to practice medicine. Unfortunately, the answer to that question is not necessarily straightforward.  I have written the following blog post to provide an outline of the factors that influence whether a malpractice case will result in discipline as well.

If you are a physician in Kansas or Missouri currently involved in a medical malpractice case and are wondering if you will next be 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.

Medical Malpractice vs. Misconduct

The first thing to understand about medical malpractice is that neither a court nor a jury can revoke a physician’s license to practice medicine—only a state medical board can do that. While a malpractice lawsuit can ruin have grave financial and reputational consequences, it may or may not have any implications regarding your ability to practice medicine in the long run.  But how can you know whether it will or not result in discipline? To answer this question, you must first understand the difference between negligence and misconduct.

A malpractice claim alleges that a physician was negligent, meaning that he or she failed to meet the standard of care owed to a patient reasonably.  The reason for that failure can vary widely, from overwork and exhaustion to drug addiction to failing to keep up with cutting edge advances in a specialty. While some of the allegations underlying a medical malpractice claim may trigger a licensing issue—drug addiction or inappropriate contact with a patient—many do not.  A doctor who worked reasonably to heal a patient but fell short of either patient’s desired outcome or the medical community’s expectations may not have any discipline result from the malpractice claim against him or her.

A misconduct allegation alleges that a physician has recklessly or intentionally engaged in conduct that threatened or threatens his or her patients’ safety.  Drug abuse, alcohol abuse, inappropriate boundary crossing with patients, criminal acts such as falsifying medical records, and other fraud all fall into this category.  While a malpractice claim and misconduct allegation can stem from the same incident, the level of intent involved in misconduct is elevated.

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now

You have worked too hard to attain your medical license.  Enduring the stress of a malpractice claim is intense, but you owe it to yourself to also examine whether that claim will have licensing implications as well.  An experienced licensing attorney can explain your risk exposure, the misconduct hearing process, the consequences of any allegations against you, and can mean the difference between getting back to helping your patients and losing your career forever. Medicine is a rewarding career—don’t let allegations of misconduct end it prematurely.

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 Opioid Crisis and Its Effect on Medical Professionals

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The New York Attorney General indicted the CEO and the Chief Compliance Officer of a major opioid manufacturer this week.  As you likely know, the United States is currently in the throes of an opioid crisis, and law enforcement’s frequent strategy has been to arrest those involved in distributing pain killers to the public. That means that CEO’s, manufacturers, pharmacists, and physicians are all finding themselves in law enforcement’s cross-hairs.  In my practice here in Missouri and Kansas, medical providers are frequently asking what the implications of the opioid crisis are for their practices. I have written the following blog post as an overview because this is an emerging issue of tremendous importance to those holding medical and pharmacy licenses.

If you are a medical 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 Opioid Crisis and Medical Providers

Physicians and pharmacists that provide patients with illegal access to opioids can face a loss of their license to practice as well as potential criminal charges. As we have seen across the country, district attorneys are eager to go beyond a mere licensure action and put medical professional behind bars.

Allegations of misconduct involving opioids can arise from several areas. Unfortunately, drug-seeking patients often make unfounded or exaggerated claims to leverage more opioids from their providers.  Other times, however, legitimate claims have arisen from families of those addicted to these powerful painkillers, alleging that medical professionals were too quick to prescribe or distribute opioids or that they failed to stop providing them after the patient displayed obvious signs of addiction.  Finally, these allegations can also arise from co-workers and hospital staff as a result of petty-infighting or legitimate concerns.  Regardless of how the allegation arises, you need to address the allegations immediately with the help of an attorney that specializes in licensing issues.

Medical professionals that have over-prescribed opioids face a challenging problem when they receive a notice of misconduct from a licensing board.  This is because while a skilled licensing attorney may be able to help you through the administrative process and, hopefully, protect your license, statements regarding a pattern of over-prescription or improper-dispensing of opioids can be used by law enforcement as evidence of criminal activity. As a result, medical professionals facing legitimate allegations are caught in a Catch-22, and it may be better to accept a penalty from a licensing board without making any statement than to make a statement to diminish the licensing penalty, only to trigger criminal charges. In some serious cases, it may be better to endure a licensure suspension in an effort to spare yourself criminal charges.  In most cases, however, a licensing attorney can both protect your license and prevent those sorts of dire consequences.

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now

The opioid crisis has resulted in numerous medical professionals facing licensing issues and even losing their careers permanently. You have worked too hard to attain your professional license to lose it due to an allegation of misconduct.  Contacting an experienced licensing attorney to help you through the misconduct hearing process, explain the implications of any claims 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 licensing issues.

 

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Discusses How Doctors Derail their Careers

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The vast majority of physicians I know enjoy long and successful careers and stand out as pillars of their communities.  But what about those that don’t?  Some physicians derail their careers with poor judgment, addiction, and deceit. I have written the following blog post to help members of the medical community how to avoid these sorts of threats to professional licensure.

If you are a licensed professional in Kansas or Missouri facing an allegation of misconduct, 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.

Career-Ending Actions for Physicians

If you are alleged to have committed misconduct, it can mean a suspension or revocation of your license to practice medicine. You must attain experienced counsel immediately to help you through this process.  I have advised licensing boards, know how they work, and can often attain a dismissal or a significant reduction in whatever penalty you may receive. These are the most common behaviors that lead to discipline:

Self-Medication

Physicians have almost unfettered access to medications. Unfortunately, this is the most common reason for their license suspension or revocation. In recent years, the national opioid crisis has focused increased attention on physicians’ use of powerful pain medications.  If you find that you are self-prescribing these sorts of drugs and have become dependent, get help immediately.

Allowing Unlicensed Practice

Physicians are all aware of how tight margins can be in certain areas of patient care and how low repayment is from programs such as Medicaid and Medicare. Unfortunately, some physicians’ answer to this problem is to allow unlicensed professionals perform procedures that only a physician should perform. This is both fraudulent and unsafe, and physicians routinely get caught when a patient is injured, or an unlicensed employee becomes disgruntled and reports his or her former employer.

Boundary Issues

Physicians all know that they should not have sexual relationships with patients, even consensual ones. Further, everyone should know that touching someone sexually without his or her consent is sexual assault and is illegal. That said, physicians routinely find themselves in disciplinary situations because they enter into “harmless” sexual flings with clients or touch clients in ways that make them feel violated without first attaining a valid release.  Either of these issues can easily lead to a license suspension or revocation.

Failing to Disclose Past Transgressions During the Licensure Process

Doctors must be completely forthcoming when applying for licensure. In my experience, it is far better to disclose past criminal convictions, addiction issues, or other transgressions than to have this sort of conduct come to light later. As with any other field, responsibly disclosing past transgressions is difficult, but lying to cover up the transgression is usually seen as much more severe.

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now for the Advice You Need

You have worked too hard to attain your medical license to lose it because you failed to attain professional legal advice when you needed it. You need to speak to a licensing attorney as soon as you become aware that there are allegations concerning your conduct.  Contacting an experienced licensing attorney now 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 your license. Call Attorney Sanger at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation with an attorney experienced dealing with professional licensing issues.

 

 

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Advises Physicians: Steps to Take If You Detect Fraud

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The physicians I know are all respected members of their communities who volunteer their time, money, and skills to make their towns and cities better places. Unfortunately, we are all aware of physicians who use their medical license to bilk the public and commit fraud. While these are the minority in the medical profession, they cast a dark shadow over the rest of the field. Some of these physicians are just crooks while others turn to fraud due to drug or gambling habits. Regardless of the reason for their deception, they can bring down unsuspecting partners in their actions. But what should you do if you discover that your medical partner is engaging in fraudulent activities? Because I have helped several physicians protect their medical licenses as they reported fraud, I wrote the following blog post to describe the process.

If you are a physician in Kansas or Missouri that has detected fraudulent activities occurring within your practice, call attorney Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation. Detecting, documenting, and self-reporting the fraud should only happen with the help of experienced licensing counsel.  Your career, reputation, and livelihood are at risk, and this is a  challenge you cannot work through alone.

Steps You Should Take if You Discover Fraud Occurring in Your Practice

Many kinds of fraud occur in medical practices. Overbilling, prescription of unnecessary procedures, and billing for procedures that were not performed are all common. If you become aware of this sort of conduct, what should you do?

First, you should contact an experienced licensing attorney immediately. You will need help documenting the fraud and navigating the self-disclosure process. It is vital that you have counsel help you through that process, as your statements to any other confidant or friend will be discoverable—public—during any subsequent investigation or litigation. You want to be able to ask hard questions and disclose uncomfortable facts without those statements coming back to haunt you later.  The only way to make those disclosures and ask those questions safely is to make them to an attorney with whom you share an attorney-client privilege.

Second, you must formally put an end to any fraudulent activity. While you may not be the provider engaged in these practices, your license is jeopardized by them. The steps you take to end the fraudulent activity should be carefully and thoroughly documented. Any overpayment should be returned.

Third, with the help of licensing counsel, you should commence a thorough investigation of any fraud and an audit of all practice accounts.

Fourth, you should carefully self-disclose your findings to either the Missouri or Kansas state offices that handle Medicare and Medicaid fraud.  Because so much of the money that comes into medical practices originates in one of these state-managed federal programs, the states have offices to deal with medical provider fraud. Once again, you must not make any self-disclosure without the help of experienced counsel by your side, or you run the risk of handing over the evidence needed to suspend or revoke your medical license.

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now for the Advice You Need 

Don’t let someone else’s poor judgment result in the loss of your medical license. You have worked too hard to attain your medical license to lose it because you failed to attain professional legal advice at the moment you needed it. You need to speak to a licensing attorney as soon as you become aware that those working within your practice are committing fraud.  Contacting an experienced licensing attorney now 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 your medical license. Call Attorney Sanger at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation with an attorney experienced dealing with professional licensing issues.

 

 

Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Discusses Social Media Pitfalls for Nurses

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It seems like almost everyone enjoys social media. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are all fun places to reconnect with friends, debate issues of the day, and blow off steam. But as every nurse knows, nurses must present themselves as professional to their community and to protect their patients’ privacy. While fun, social media is also a serious hazard when nurses portray themselves as unprofessional—pictures of one too many margaritas on vacation—or violate confidentiality—gripes about the third colostomy bag you had to change during your shift. Seemingly funny posts, sarcasm taken out of context, and “gallows humor” can all easily be misconstrued and lead to ethics complaints. If you find yourself facing allegations of unprofessional conduct because of social media posts, you need to contact an experienced licensing attorney immediately.

If you are a nurse 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.

HIPAA Concerns and Patient Privacy

You hopefully already know that is a violation of HIPAA to share any patient information with anyone outside the medical environment, including on social media.  There have been stories in the news about medical professionals who record or photograph patients while they are sedated or asleep. Never engage in this unethical conduct.

Social media can make the line between ethical and unethical conduct less clear.  It is a smaller world than we often believe, and a comment made to your social media “friends” can easily be forwarded on to others, including patients you are treating or their family. A flippant comment on Facebook about changing a patient’s colostomy bag, even if you did not name the patient in your post, can come to that patient’s attention, raise ethical concerns, and complaints.

Unprofessional Behavior

You already know that nurses are held to a higher standard than other professions.  Pictures involving drinking, recreational drug use, or any other conduct that makes the nurse appear unprofessional and can lead to ethics complaints.  So while a simple post with a picture of your crazy night on vacation that you intended to be shared only with your friends may not seem like a serious issue, it can be taken out of context by a patient who believes you are doing that partying on the night before her surgery.

Workplace Complaints

Workplace complaints expressed on social media pose a complex problem.  You have a first amendment right to make certain statements, and federal, and state labor rights may protect your right to complain about workplace conditions on social media. Generally speaking, courts see social media as the “virtual watercooler” where employees are allowed to gather and gripe. But there are many variables at issue when it comes to workplace complaints, such as whether you are a public or private employee and whether the comment was about the workplace or patients.  Usually, public employees have more expansive rights than employees of a private employer, and while employees are generally allowed to complain about the workplace, they are typically prohibited from complaining about patients or customers.  Because this is a tricky area, I recommend keeping your privacy settings to private so that your posts are limited to those you know.

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now for the Advice You Need

Don’t let a poorly considered social media post mean the end of your nursing career. You have worked too hard to attain your nursing license to lose it because you failed to attain professional legal advice when you needed it. You need to speak to a licensing attorney as soon as you become aware that there are allegations concerning your professional conduct or ethics.  Contacting an experienced licensing attorney now 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 your nursing license. Call Attorney Sanger at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation with an attorney experienced dealing with professional licensing issues.

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Explains How a DUI Can Affect Your Teaching License

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In our society, those who work with children are held to an extremely high standard. The standard is so high that a teacher will often get into licensing or employment trouble for behavior that would have little or no effect on a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. Whether this is fair or unfair is beside the point—it is a fact of life.  As a result, teachers often worry what the effect of a DUI will be on their careers.  If you are an educator here in Kansas or Missouri who has been charged with driving under the influence, call attorney Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation.

The Effects of a DUI Will Depend on Several Factors

DUI is the most common criminal offense committed by educators.  While it is a common offense, the effect of a DUI on your career varies widely and will depend on many factors—the circumstances surrounding the DUI, where you are in your teaching career, and whether you have had other DUI’s in the past.

Not all DUI cases are built the same. If you receive a DUI on the weekend and are just over the legal limit for driving, the arrest does not necessarily suggest that drinking is affecting your classroom performance.  On the other hand, if you receive a DUI charge while driving to or from work, it indicates that your drinking may be affecting your classroom performance.  In the latter scenario, expect employer and state scrutiny. Finally, a DUI that suggests that you have or would endanger children—such as a DUI while driving a summer camp van—is likely to be particularly problematic.

Your professional teaching status will affect how a DUI charge impacts your career. If you are an aspiring teacher, you may now have a DUI charge come up on every background check. If the circumstances of your DUI show poor judgement or severe disregard for public safety, it may become an issue with the state licensing agency and will likely be seen as a problem by employers. You will have to be prepared to address the issue with state investigators and prospective employers forthrightly.  You will need to have a strong body of evidence that suggests that this was a one-time occurrence to defuse notions that you are not fit to teach.

If you are already a teacher but are not tenured, a DUI may reflect poorly on you and may influence the tenure process in subtle or not-so-subtle ways, especially if the DUI had any overlap with your teaching duties.  Finally, if you are a tenured teacher, a DUI charge or conviction may have little effect on your employment provided that it did not otherwise reflect poor judgment or impact your work in the classroom.

Before any license or employment action can begin against you, the body seeking to discipline you must provide you with notice of any allegations and the evidence against you. It is a grave mistake to try to “be helpful” or to talk your way out of this situation. Only an experienced licensing attorney has the sort of experience you require to maintain your career and livelihood.

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now for the Advice You Need

You have worked too hard to attain your teaching license to lose it because you failed to attain professional legal advice promptly after being charged with DUI.   Contacting an experienced licensing attorney can mean the difference between getting back to the classroom and your students and losing your career forever.

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

 

 

 

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Describes Common Real Estate Broker Complaints

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Complaints against real estate professionals—agents and brokers—are unfortunately quite common in both Kansas and Missouri. That is easy to understand, as commercial and residential real estate transactions involve tremendous emotion and contain so many complex elements. We also should not lose sight of the fact that, like all professionals, real estate professionals are human beings and that can make mistakes. If something goes wrong during a deal, the realtor frequently gets the blame. I wrote the following blog post to explain the top behaviors for professionals to avoid in the real estate field. I attached both states’ discipline rules for your further review.

If you are a real estate 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.

Misrepresentation

If a real estate profession incorrectly represents any material facts—a fact that if known, might have caused a buyer or seller to make a different decision with regards to remaining in a contract, or to the price paid or received—during a transaction, they are at risk of being accused of misrepresentation. Misrepresentation also occurs when a real estate professional omits or fails to disclose a material fact.

Failure to Supervise

Failure to supervise can occur in two different manners. The first type happens when a real estate professional fails to monitor a subordinate’s work. The second type occurs when a real estate office’s broker fails to supervise the office’s license-required transactions adequately.

Unlicensed Activity

As any licensed real estate professional knows, certain aspects of assisting with the purchase and sale of real estate can only be performed by someone with an appropriate real estate license. If a real estate professional is found to have allowed a non-licensed individual to perform work requiring a license, he or she may be subject to discipline.

Violating Trust Funds

Trust fund violations can occur, first, when a real estate professional either comingles client money with his or her funds or, second, when the professional fails to document financial transactions adequately. In commingling, a real estate professional obviously violates professional ethics when he or she takes client funds; however, it is worth noting that it is an ethical problem to simply comingle the funds, even if none are taken.

Criminal Conviction

A criminal conviction, even one unrelated to the practice of real estate, can cause serious licensure issues for a real estate professional.  Any conviction that calls the real estate professional’s ability to be entrusted with substantial amounts of money can mean trouble for his or her license.  Drug convictions, theft and embezzlement convictions, and even DUI can signal danger for a real estate license.

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now

You have worked too hard to attain your career as a real estate professional. Allegations based on miscommunications, upset buyers and sellers, and competing agents can cost you your livelihood, even if they are not true. You should know the parameters of the profession’s ethical rules but should contact a licensing attorney if you are accused of violating them. Contacting an experienced licensing attorney to help you through the complaint process can mean the difference between getting back to helping your patients and losing your career.

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 professional licensing issues.

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Discusses Prescription Drugs’ Effects on Medical Licensing

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There is an opioid crisis in the United States, and in its aftermath, there has been increased scrutiny of physicians’ patterns of prescribing these powerful drugs. That scrutiny precipitated an increase in licensing investigations regarding prescription patterns and opioid use by physicians themselves.

If you are a physician contacted by an investigator, do not make the mistake of trying to handle your response to the investigation alone. I have seen physicians’ lives and careers devastated because they tried to be helpful with investigators, in the wrongheaded belief that that generosity would buy them the investigator’s good favor. It won’t. Physicians under investigation often erroneously believed that “playing ball” or helping the investigators helps their case, but this positive impulse consistently results in negative consequences. Don’t fool around, get the help you need from an attorney that specializes in licensing issues. If you are a physician in Kansas or Missouri facing an investigation, call attorney Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation.

How Prescription Drugs Can Affect Your Medical License

There is no question that being a physician can be incredibly stressful. In addition to staying up to date on current medical procedures and regulations regarding patient care, being a physician can pose personal challenges as well. Time away from home, massive workloads, relationship issues, and medical school debt can make work-life-balance challenging to achieve. Every day, physician prescribe medication to help alleviate their patients’ anxiety and pain. As physicians’ own stresses mount, the temptation to self-prescribe can be powerful.  Unfortunately, some physicians succumb to this pressure and self-prescribe powerful opioids and other. While physicians understand these drugs’ powerful effects better than anyone, self-awareness diminishes as drug use increases.  Drug dependence ensues.

In my practice, I most commonly see physicians who have developed an addiction to Vicodin, OxyContin, and Valium. I also see the frequent misuse of amphetamines, depressants or painkillers, such as Darvocet, Percocet or Demerol. While these brand names vary, all opioids are highly addictive and are associated with controlled substance addictions in physicians.

Allegations that give rise to licensing issues can take several forms. First, I frequently see physicians that are legally attaining the drugs but have become addicted to them. This addiction leads to sloppiness and mistakes in the medical setting. Even if the doctor is not making mistakes, if colleagues and coworkers note that he or she is coming to work under the influence of prescription drugs, they often file a complaint. Second, I also see physicians that have stopped attaining these drugs legally and have transitioned to either self-prescribing them or to attaining them illegally. Obviously, this is a serious issue that may lead to criminal charges in addition to licensing issues.

If any of the above descriptions describe your scenario, you need legal help now to thwart efforts to suspend or revoke your medical license. I have helped physicians in Kansas and Missouri in your situation and can help you too.

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now

You have worked too hard to attain your medical license.  If you are a physician under investigation or have developed an addiction to opioids, pain pills, or any other drug, do not agree to any suspension of any kind or speak to an investigator without an attorney by your side to defend you and to negotiate the best possible outcome. Your career, reputation, and livelihood are at risk, and the challenge facing you is one you cannot navigate alone. Contacting an experienced licensing attorney to help you through this process 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 prepared to guide you through your licensing issues.