If you are a professional license holder who has been accused of some illegal or unethical practices, aside from the potential legal ramifications from your accusers, you should also be concerned about losing your license from the professional board. After you have been accused, it is likely that the licensing board for your profession will call you in for a review. This should not be taken lightly. You worked hard for that license and your livelihood likely depends on it. You would not want to lose it because you did not take the board seriously.
Often addressing the licensing board during a review can be broken down to what you should and shouldn’t do. By taking these tips to heart, it can help you keep your license.
WHAT TO DO FOR A LICENSING BOARD REVIEW
Before and during your license review often much of the work will be done by your legal representative in order to prove you took appropriate action. However, you still need to be active in your defense.
CONTACT A KNOWLEDGEABLE ATTORNEY
This should often be one of your very first steps. An attorney skilled at professional license defense will help you get through the review process and will make the difference between keeping and losing your license. The review board is not your friend, and they are only interested in hearing evidence defending your license. Your attorney will help make that evidence as strong as possible as well as advising you on what to do next.
CONTACT MALPRACTICE INSURANCE
Alongside contacting your attorney, contacting any malpractice insurance should also be one of your first steps. If you receive a complaint, often it will be in your policy that you need to inform your insurance so they, too, can take proper action.
FIND TOP EXPERTS TO SUPPORT YOUR ACTIONS
As an example, if you are a doctor charged with medical malpractice, you need to prove that you took action that any other doctor would have taken in that situation. So, you would want to find a series of respected medical officials that support the action you took. While your lawyer is skilled in defending licenses, they may not know all the top experts in your given field. It is crucial you work with them to find respected officials in your field to support the action you took which can serve as evidence as to why you should keep your license.
WHAT NOT TO DO FOR A LICENSING BOARD REVIEW
When it comes to what to do for your license defense, often the best thing you can do is avoid needless or negligent action. What you say or do can often hurt your case in ways you may not anticipate.
DON’T IGNORE THE BOARD
If you have received a notice from the license review board, you need to walk a fine line between not ignoring it and acknowledging it properly. If you have received a notice, you need to contact an attorney who can advise you on how to properly respond. Responding before that can result in damage to your case.
DON’T TALK WITHOUT REPRESENTATION
Say a member of the review board shows up at your office for a chat. It is best to politely turn them away. Talking to anyone involved in your review or investigation without legal representation can be extremely harmful. It is your lawyer’s job to not only win, but advise you on what to say so they can better make that happen so you escape any potential punishments.
DON’T CONTACT THE PERSON WHO FILED THE COMPLAINT
You may think you can get the person who filed the complaint to revoke it by explaining yourself. However, contact with that person can easily be seen as harassment or an attempt to intimidate them. This can be devastating to you case, especially if your “explanation” included information that proves your guilt.
NEED HELP?
Do you have a professional license that is in peril from malpractice? Contact us today. Let the Speas Law Firm help build your case so you can keep your license and your livelihood.