Medical License Defense in Florida

Attorney Nick Oberheiden
Florida Medical License Defense
Team Lead

Florida meeting location – by appointment only: We do NOT accept mail or service at this location.
2250 Southwest 3rd Ave, 4th Floor
Miami, FL 33129
305-928-8505

If you practice medicine in the state of Florida then you rely heavily on your medical license. Having your license to practice medicine revoked or suspended by the Florida Board of Medicine can cripple or even end your medical career and imperil your livelihood.

Unfortunately, there are numerous ways for your license to be threatened by Florida statutes. Many of them do not even have anything to do with how you practice medicine.

The medical license defense attorneys at the national law firm Oberheiden P.C. have law offices across Florida. With our effective legal representation, we have helped numerous medical professionals in the Sunshine State with the legal process to protect their license from administrative complaints and attempts by the Florida Board of Medicine and Department of Health investigations to suspend or revoke it. Our team of experienced legal counsels can help you maintain your professional license.

Common Criminal Charges that Can Lead to a License Suspension

TThe Florida Medical Board, Florida Department of Health, and the medical community go to great lengths to maintain a reputation of being comprised of upstanding, quality citizens. To do so, though, they often take aggressive action against anyone in the community who runs afoul of the law, even if that misconduct is minor and unrelated to the practice of medicine.

A foreseeable result of that attitude is the tendency for otherwise perfectly good doctors, surgeons, and other licensed healthcare providers to face license suspension or even revocation actions for the following criminal charges or convictions:

Driving under the influence (DUI), whether of alcohol, drugs, or both
Drug possession
Domestic violence
Assault or battery
Theft

Your medical license could be in jeopardy even while these criminal charges are still pending and have not yet been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. If you do get convicted on the underlying charge, the Florida Board of Medicine may even be required to suspend your license under the terms of your membership. This can make the costs of the criminal conviction even worse, and can make it even more difficult for you to get a job after serving your sentence.

Civil Allegations Against Licensed Professionals and Misconduct Can Also Lead to License Issues

Unfortunately, it is not just criminal matters that the Board of Medicine and the medical community take seriously under Florida Law. A healthcare professional may find themselves facing license repercussions and other types of sanctioning for various types of misconduct that do not amount to a crime. Some of these types do not even lead to civil liability, either.

A few common issues have included:

Drug or alcohol use
Sexual misconduct
Workplace harassment, including sexual harassment
Mental health problems
Online behavior, particularly with regard to comments made on social media

Again, many of these issues are not related to medical practice in any way.

Dr. Nick Oberheiden

Founder

Attorney-at-Law

Lynette S. Byrd

Former DOJ Trial Attorney

Partner

Brian J. Kuester

Former U.S. Attorney

Hon. Kevin McCarthy

55th Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives (ret.)

Government Consultant

Mike Pompeo

Of Counsel

Former U.S. Secretary of State

John W. Sellers

Former Senior DOJ Trial Attorney

Linda Julin McNamara

Federal Appeals Attorney

Nicholas B. Johnson

Former Prosecutor

Roger Bach

Former Special Agent (DOJ)

Chris J. Quick

Former Special Agent (FBI & IRS-CI)

Michael S. Koslow

Former Supervisory Special Agent (DOD-OIG)

Ray Yuen

Former Supervisory Special Agent (FBI)

License Repercussions for Performance Problems

The Board of Medicine can also take action against your medical license for your job performance. This can happen if, for example:

Your alcohol or drug dependence has impacted your ability to practice medicine, or if you have been under the influence while on the job, which results in medical malpractice
You have been accused of medical malpractice, particularly if there are numerous allegations or if the incident was severe
You were caught diverting drugs
You commit healthcare fraud
You breached the standard of medical care that you are expected to provide
You violate an ethical code

Drug diversion has also become an increasingly common way for medical professionals to face license issues, especially since the opioid epidemic brought renewed attention to how easily prescription painkillers can make their way into the public. You can see your medical license suspended or even outright revoked for:

Writing prescriptions for profit
Stealing medications from the workplace
Writing prescriptions that you know are not medically necessary, such as for a patient who is not exhibiting pain or in an amount that you know is excessive for any legitimate medical need

However, many medical professionals are surprised to learn that drug diversion is not restricted to intentional conduct. You can face legal or disciplinary action against your medical license for unintentional and negligent acts or omissions that could foreseeably lead to prescription medications getting into the wrong hands. Just a few ways this can happen are if you:

Get patient files confused and give a prescription to the wrong person
Make errors in the Pyxis or other medical recordkeeping system
Fail to properly dispose of controlled substances

While doing this just once is unlikely to lead to more than a workplace reprimand, making a habit of it can lead to escalating sanctions that could end with a suspension of your medical license.

The Self-Reporting Predicament

A common issue facing licensed medical doctors in Florida is when or whether to self-report something that might lead to sanctioning by the Florida Board of Medicine. Medical professionals have an obligation to do so, but the limits of that obligation are not always clear. This can put you in a difficult position, as not disclosing what you are required to report to the Board can lead to additional sanctions for failing to uphold your disclosure obligations.

The medical license defense lawyers at Oberheiden P.C. have guided numerous licensed medical practitioners through this difficult decision making process. Our experienced attorneys know that the questions are not merely when or whether to self-report potential problems to the Board, but also how to disclose them and how much to disclose.

Each circumstance is different, and how you approach this sensitive issue can make a huge difference in the outcome of disciplinary proceedings and in your professional future.

Florida Medical License Defense Lawyers at Oberheiden P.C.

If you are facing a challenge to your medical license in Florida, or if you think that you might in the near future, you need an experienced Florida medical license defense attorney to protect your professional future and your reputation as a medical provider. Call the intake hotline for the national law firm Oberheiden P.C. at (888) 680-1745 or contact them online to get started on your case today. Oberheiden P.C. has practice locations across Florida for the convenience of healthcare professionals.