Especially in this current economic climate, it is less than ideal to be let go from your medical job and lose your main income stream, to say the least. If this happens to you, you may be scrambling to seek alternative forms of financial support to help make ends meet for the time being. Here, you may wonder whether you are eligible to claim unemployment insurance. Well, please read on to discover whether you can apply for unemployment benefits after getting fired from your medical job and how one of the seasoned New York health care professional defense lawyers at Walker Medical Law can help you avoid being put in this position altogether.
Can I apply for unemployment benefits after getting fired from my medical job?
Generally speaking, in New York State, healthcare professionals may opt for unemployment insurance benefits after getting fired. However, and very importantly, this is unless they were terminated from their position due to being found guilty of medical misconduct. That is, unemployment benefits are designated for individuals who lost their jobs through no fault of their own, such as company-wide layoffs or restructuring of departments or business operations.
So, it is indeed your fault if you commit an act of medical misconduct. With this, the New York State Department of Health’s Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC) or Office of Professional Discipline (OPD) can revoke your medical license, subsequently ending your ability to practice and remain employed. Or, your employer may conduct their own internal investigation against you and decide to let you go. Either way, collecting unemployment paychecks may be out of the question for you.
How am I supposed to make money after losing my medical license?
You must seek other alternatives to bounce back financially if unemployment benefits are no longer on the table. In a best-case scenario, the OPMC or OPD may have only temporarily suspended your medical license. So, in the meantime, you may be permitted to take another job position in the medical field that does not interact directly with patients, primarily in administrative roles. The same may apply if the Department permanently revokes your ability to practice in a specific field but still allows you to participate in administrative roles or another specialty. However, this is all contingent on whether an employer is willing to take you in as an employee given your history of medical misconduct.
To avoid having to face this financial insecurity in the first place, it is in your best interest to seriously defend against the medical misconduct claims placed against you. No matter what, you do not need to feel alone in this process. One of the competent New York healthcare professional defense lawyers is ready to be in your corner and support you throughout. So please reach out to Walker Medical Law whenever you are ready.
