California Nursing License Defense Attorney
California Nursing License Defense Attorney
Working as a nurse necessitates the acquisition and maintenance of a nursing license. Interactions with investigators and the California Board of Nursing can be stressful and put your license and ability to work in jeopardy. An accusation can result in your licensure application being denied or your license being canceled.
Be extremely cautious if your employment is in jeopardy as a result of an investigation, accusation, nurse DUI, or criminal charge by the California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) or the California Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians (BVNPT). It is critical that you protect yourself and seek the advice of a qualified California nursing license defense lawyer.
Our lawyers are highly skilled in nurse license defense
Our skilled nursing license attorneys at Spodek Law Group can considerably improve your case’s chances of a favorable outcome. We create comprehensive defense strategies that put you in the best possible light and make use of all of the resources available to us in your defense.
We can help you understand and resolve any issue with your driver’s license, including:
- Discipline by the California Board of Registered Nursing
- Investigations by the California Board of Nursing and the Department of Consumer Affairs
- Accusations of gross negligence, unprofessional behavior, and ineptitude
- Nurses who have been convicted of DUI and other criminal offenses
- The “Intervention Program” of the Board of Nursing
Violations of the Nursing Practice Act’s standard of care
Let us look after you while you look after your patients.
We understand the pressure you’re under, and our BRN nurse defense lawyer is dedicated to defending you and your license. We don’t pass judgment; we’re merely here to assist. We have low fees and various payment options.
We realize how concerned you are, and our nursing defense lawyers will devote their entire attention to defending you and your license. We don’t pass judgment; we’re merely here to assist. We offer good rates and various payment options.
Call our office right away if you want the best possible result. Our nurse licensing attorneys will aggressively protect you and your license.
We represent nurses throughout California, Los Angeles County, Orange County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, San Diego County and Ventura County.
DEFENDING YOUR NURSING LICENSE: 6 STAGES
Nursing license defense is the legal process of defending a nurse at each of the six steps of disciplinary action: [1] nurse accusation or crime, [2] investigation and interrogation, [3] official accusation, [4] OAH Administrative Hearing, [5] Appeal, and [6] Reinstatement.
Nurse licensees with the BRN and BVNPT may face discipline at various levels. A criminal record, making false assertions on the application, discipline in another state, disciplinary action on a previous license, or abnormal behavior during the NCLEX process can all result in new license applications being denied.
The following are the most typical reasons for nurse disciplinary actions among current licensees:
- A DUI, alcoholism, or drug abuse,
- Incompetence or gross negligence
- Nursing Practice Act Violations
- Violations of the standard of care
- Abuse in nursing homes
- Inadequate record keeping
- Arrests, convictions, and criminal offenses
- Nurse disciplinary actions have six stages:
1. Complaint or Criminal Charge against a Nurse
When the BRN or BVNPT receives one of the following notifications, enforcement activity by the California Board of Nursing begins:
- A patient, doctor, hospital, or anonymous person files a complaint.
- A criminal charge, arrest, or conviction is reported.
- Multistate nurses and travel nurses face disciplinary action in another state, which is communicated to California via the NURSYS national database.
Anyone, even anonymous parties, can register complaints online for alleged infractions of laws, regulations, and professional standards. If a breach of the Nursing Practice Act may have occurred within the board’s authority, the complaint will be referred to one of the DCA Division of Inquiry’s 12 district offices for investigation.
Important Note: The time period following your arrest for a crime is critical for preserving your driver’s license. Attempts must be made to have the accusation reduced or dropped.
2. Investigation and Interview of the Nurse
A nurse license investigation usually begins when a BRN or DCA Division of Investigation investigator approaches you to schedule an interview or when you get a board letter that:
- Authorizes the release of employment records,
- Serves as legal notice of an investigation or formal accusation, or it might be used for other purposes.
- Offers you the opportunity to voluntarily participate in the Board’s Intervention Program.
Former cops, DEA agents, and other seasoned investigators make up DCA’s team. They’ve spent years honing their interrogation and investigation skills. They frequently act nice, offering to “hear your side of the story.” They are, in fact, painstakingly constructing their case against you.
Important Note: If the allegation against you may be settled during the investigation stage, it will not be published on the Board’s website or BreEZe.
3. Filing of Formal Accusations
The Attorney General will file a Formal Accusation against your license, which will be made public on the Board’s website and BreEZe. The Attorney General and your Board file an Accusation, which explains why they want to suspend, revoke, or have you voluntarily surrender your nursing license. It will also contain a cost recovery statement outlining the costs of the Board’s investigation and enforcement actions, which you will be responsible for reimbursing.
You normally have 15 days to respond after receiving the Accusation, after which you will lose your license due to a default ruling. If you hire a BRN defense lawyer to help you resolve your case, we’ll need to file a ‘Notice of Defense’ right away to start a dual defense track:
a) Carefully negotiate with the Attorney General’s Office the best available terms for a Stipulated Settlement. If you and the other party can agree on terms, the matter will be resolved by a Stipulated Settlement and Disciplinary Order. The order will spell out the conditions you must follow in order to keep your license.
b) If necessary, prepare for a hearing with the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) of the Department of Justice.
4. Your OAH Administrative Hearing
If your case cannot be addressed during the Accusation stage, you will need to go to the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) in Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, or San Diego for an Administrative Hearing. This is a legal proceeding in which the merits of your case and your fate are decided by an Administrative Law Judge.
The hearing will take place at OAH and will include a Judge, your attorney, and a Deputy Attorney General with extensive experience. Both sides will be entitled to submit their arguments and evidence in accordance with the rules of evidence. The Judge will review the evidence submitted and will make a ruling within 30 days (CA Government Code § 11517). The most usual result of a Hearing is that the license is kept but with some type of probation.
5. Filing an Appeal by Writ of Mandamus
If you lose a licensing matter in an OAH Hearing, you can appeal the decision in California Superior Court using a writ of administrative mandamus. A licensee normally has 30 days to file a writ petition in Superior Court once the OAH judgment becomes effective.
A writ of mandamus might be used if your counsel believes the OAH Judge made mistakes in his decision. If a writ petition does not result in a favorable ruling, the California Court of Appeals is the next court of appeals with authority. Appeals are a highly technical field of law with numerous time, evidentiary, and scope of review constraints.
6. Petition for License Reinstatement and/or Relief
Nurses seeking reinstatement and penalty relief can be represented by Spodek Law Group. Nurses can request a reduction in fines, an early termination of probation, or the reinstatement of a previously revoked license through the California Board of Registered Nursing. Before a petition can be filed, certain time limits apply:
Three years from the effective date of the surrender or revocation, a petition for license reinstatement may be filed. One year following the effective date of the disciplinary action, a petition for license surrender or revocation due to incapacity due to mental or physical sickness may be filed.
After two years have passed from the effective date of the disciplinary action or the day the license was issued in probationary status for ordered probation periods of three years or more, a petition for early termination of probation may be filed. If the probation period is less than three years, the petition can be filed after one year has passed since the action took effect.
After one year has passed after the effective date of the disciplinary action or the date the license was issued in probationary status, a petition for modification of penalties may be filed.
Without a hearing or debate, the BRN can deny a petition filed within two years of the previous decision’s effective date. A petition will not be considered by the BRN if:
- The petitioner is serving a term for any criminal offense, including probation or parole imposed by a court.
- The petitioner is subject to a sex offender registration order (290 pc).
- The petitioner is facing an allegation or a petition to revoke probation.
Spodek Law Group has a track record of successfully drafting license reinstatement and penalty relief applications. Call our offices to discuss your choices and how we can assist you in defending your nursing license at every level.
Nurses of all types are required to become licensed to work legally in California. Following the extensive education they receive to become a licensed nurse, nurses are required to take an oath with the state promising to uphold the law and the ethical issues at hand when they work in the medical field. When a nurse is accused of breaking the law, he or she is held responsible by the state. Any official complaint filed against a nurse is vetted and investigated to substantiate claims made by accusers. If a nurse is found guilty of breaking any laws or ethical oath they’ve taken, they could lose their license for a long period of time or forever.
Anyone can lose their nursing license for several offenses in California. Unfortunately, it can happen to anyone, and it can happen for any number of reasons. If a nurse is being investigated by the state for their behavior working with patients in or in the medical field, it might not be their fault. A nursing license defense attorney can help nurses under investigation for improper practices keep their license by proving that the incident either never happened or it was unknown to the nurse in question.
California Nurse License Defense Lawyers
Reasons Behind Nursing Investigations
Nurses work closely with medical patients on a daily basis. They are responsible for any number of duties performed throughout the day to assist doctors in caring for patients, from taking their vital statistics to issuing medication when a patient is in need. During that time, anything can happen. Patients are not supervised every moment by nurses, and things go wrong. The most common reasons nurses are investigated and at risk of losing their professional licenses includes the following:
– Improper medical care
– Providing improper services
– Sexual misconduct
– Substance abuse
– Discrimination
– Negligence
A patient who was given the wrong medication and ends up in the hospital because of the mistake can file a formal complaint against the nurse who issued the medication. If the paperwork for the patient was mixed up with another because a doctor failed to put it in the right folder or an administrative assistant mixed up information when typing it up following a previous appointment, this is no fault of the nurse. However, it’s nearly impossible to prove this without legal assistance.
Sometimes an investigation occurs following an incident when a doctor asks a nurse to do something they are not comfortable doing but fear for their job. When notification of an investigation of this nature takes place, any good nurse attorney will advise their client to speak to no one about the incident. The attorney wants nurses to come directly to their offices and discuss things in person before issuing any response or discussing the investigation with anyone.
Discipline
Any nurse found guilty of breaking the law is held accountable for their actions. If the board’s investigation finds the nurse guilty, they impose their own form of discipline according to the terms of the law and the law broken. A formal hearing is held, and the board comes up with a conclusion. If the offense is bad enough, it is then taken to a state court or even a federal court if it’s found necessary.
California Nurse License Defense Lawyers
The board can take several actions against a nurse if he or she is found guilty:
– Suspension of license
– Revocation of license
– Letter of reprimand
– Letter of admonishment for the record
– Imposition of a fine or restitution
– Probation
If the offense is taken to a state or federal level, the nurse could see additional fines and/or jail time imposed. It’s not likely the nurse will see a case go this far unless their actions resulted in the death of a patient or some sort of medical fraud. An experienced attorney with years of practice helping nurses keep their licenses when an investigation occurs can help any nurse throughout the process. If the attorney can’t help the nurse find a way to overcome the accusations, they can help the nurse reduce charges and penalties, and reinstate their license when disciplinary actions have ended and it’s that time.