Having a restraining order placed against you may be something that you take seriously and thereby take accountability for. Though this may be a personal matter you wish to keep private, it may follow you to your workplace. This is especially true if the individual who filed the restraining order becomes a patient of the medical practice in which you are employed. What’s more, the New York State Department of Health’s Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC) or Office of Professional Discipline (OPD) may just get word of this. Read on to discover whether a patient’s restraining order against you will affect the status of your medical license and how a seasoned OPMC/OPD misconduct defense lawyer at Walker Medical Law can work to protect it at all costs.
Can someone’s restraining order against me affect my medical license?
The short answer is, no, a restraining order alone is not enough to temporarily suspend or permanently revoke your medical license. However, it may affect your professional life in other ways. For example, a restraining order on your record may create difficulties in being approved for new licenses to practice in different fields. Employers may also be more wary of hiring you, while patients may be more skeptical about making appointments with you.
Can someone’s restraining order against me trigger an OPMC investigation?
As a practicing physician, you automatically hold a responsibility to maintain public trust and overall meet the standard of care established by the New York State medical community. Therefore, having a restraining order on your record may raise questions amongst the OPMC board as to whether you can still be trusted to provide healthcare. This alone may trigger an OPMC investigation.
In this investigation, the OPMC may dig into the circumstances that led to a restraining order being placed against you; along with whether there are criminal charges or convictions connected to this order. This may allow them to determine whether you participated in unprofessional or unethical behavior that could be problematic in your practice of medicine.
In addition, the OPMC may interview your current and former patients, colleagues, employees, and employers. Here, they may ask these parties questions about your past and whether they would characterize you as having an upstanding character. They may specifically direct questions to patients regarding whether they ever felt in immediate danger while under your care. Ultimately, if their responses are not up to par, then the OPMC may look into punishing you. You may end up permanently losing your ability to practice medicine in New York State, in the worst-case scenario.
You may be intimidated by the proceedings that lie ahead of you. But one of the best ways to get through them is by having a competent OPMC/OPD misconduct defense lawyer stand by your side throughout. Contact Walker Medical Law at your earliest possible convenience.
