Get Legal Counsel To Guide Your Response To A Board Complaint
What should you do if you have been contacted by a professional licensing board because of a complaint, criminal charges or a criminal conviction? It is a healthy sign that you are ready to fight for your future by asking this question with a willingness to listen to guidance. A personal consultation with a lawyer about your particular situation is the smartest next move.
Contact The Law Office of Sean R. Dingle, LLC, in Denver to schedule a consultation. Our lawyer, Sean R. Dingle, can help you plan and implement a strategy to retain your professional license.
Examples Of Advice That You Are Likely To Hear When You Visit With Attorney Sean Dingle
The following recommendations can offer direction when your professional license is at risk. For personalized counsel, consult with our attorney.
1. Review your malpractice coverage if you have it and it is relevant to your case. Will your medical malpractice insurance or other professional practice-related insurance cover your legal costs as you prepare to defend your professional license vigorously? Regardless of whether it seems fair, your financial resources may determine whether you can afford the best legal representation available to defend your freedom, your reputation and your professional license.
2. Don’t assume that a letter asking you to respond to an ethics complaint within 30 days means you have plenty of time to decide what to do. This type of communication should be considered an urgent stimulus to take action. It is also best handled by an experienced professional license defense attorney. Licensure board members are not your friends in such cases. This is not a friendly inquiry. Mr. Dingle has the knowledge and experience to guide you forward when your license or professional good standing is at risk. He is a former assistant attorney general who served as the disciplinary prosecutor for the Colorado State Board of Medical Examiners.
3. In confidential consultations with your attorney, explore the facts of your case. A complaint may have come from a patient, a family member of a patient or a hospital. Do not – again, do not – attempt to talk your way out of the accusations with the accusing party. Such conversations are practically guaranteed to make your case more difficult to resolve in your favor. Talking too much about ethics complaints before talking to a lawyer is one of the most common pitfalls of a license defense matter – and one of the primary ways by which suspicions or accusations lead to worst-case outcomes.
Keep in mind that the medical board or nursing board or any licensing agency is a statutorily authorized entity with the capacity to regulate you and your career. A letter reporting an ethics complaint to you is a legal inquiry. The letter may look like a question when it is, in fact, evidence that someone thinks you may have committed professional wrongdoing or a crime relevant to your suitability for the profession.
4. Don’t dig yourself into a hole or back yourself into a corner before your defense gets off the ground. Professional disciplinary sanctions could harm your career much more drastically than you imagine. Your situation is serious, even if all you have against you so far is a letter from a professional licensing board. It is much more challenging and costly for an attorney to represent you after you have already made things worse by responding wrongly, failing to respond in a timely manner or saying the wrong things to the wrong people.
5. Consult with attorney Dingle regarding any type of professional licensure issues involving any licensing board. You may be a real estate broker, a psychotherapist or an insurance broker. Mr. Dingle has experience relevant to many of these professions as well as medical professions. He has a license to produce insurance in Colorado. At our law firm, we welcome inquiries from anyone with license defense concerns.
Step One When Responding To A Board Complaint: Talk With An Attorney
Discuss your case with our experienced professional license defense lawyer. Mr. Dingle is prepared to direct you on what to do next after you have been accused of an ethics complaint or charged with a crime. Call 303-225-7583 or reach out to our Denver, Colorado, office to schedule your free initial consultation concerning a nursing or medical professional license defense matter.