License Restoration

In the event that your ability to practice in the medical field has been called into question after a complaint filed with the OPMC, you will want to do everything you can to show that you should keep your license. If your medical license is in jeopardy, you may have to be examined by the […]

When there has been a complaint filed against a physician, an investigation will take place to determine whether there is any truth into that complaint. The physician will have to attend a hearing where the committee will assess the findings of the investigation. Then, the board can make an educated decision as to what the […]

When you have been accused of an injustice that may cause you to lose your medical license, there are some steps you may be able to take that can prevent this from happening. Of course, it all depends on the type of infraction that has occurred. There are some situations that you unfortunately won’t be […]

I have numerous clients who have had to surrender their license due to drug use. This is really unfortunate because it takes a long time to resolve and you’re out of business for a long time before you can get your license back. In some of these cases, the doctor was unable to really acquit […]

I have represented several physicians who have had psychological breakdowns and had to be hospitalized because they were deemed to be an imminent danger to himself or herself or somebody else. Obviously a doctor who has this happen to him or her is not exactly in shape to take care of patients. The state that […]

If a doctor is convicted of a sexual crime, especially one involving one of his patients, they face one of the most difficult situations to try to restore the license. The conviction itself will cause the doctor’s license to be revoked. HHHe or she can apply to have it restored after three years. Trying to […]

HIPAA, the federal statute to protect the medical privacy of patients, can entrap doctors, nurses, and other health care providers in ways that sometimes are not obvious.  In a recent case of mine, a licensed heath care provider who worked at a hospital mentioned to a “friend” that a certain well-known person had been in […]

If you are a nurse, dentist, or other professional, other than a physician assistant or a physician, you are governed by the Department of Education and its investigative arm, the Office of Professional Discipline. The Office of Professional Discipline must investigate every complaint against a licensee. They may do so by interviewing your friends, coworkers […]

The Office of Professional Medical Conduct is the investigative arm of the Department of Health. It controls physicians and physician assistants. If they investigate you, you have to take that very seriously. OPMC must investigate every complaint against the license, and they will do so by talking to the witnesses that come forward. They will […]

If you’re a physician and you agree to put yourself on probation rather than go to a hearing where you might lose your license, bare in mind that the HMOs you work for may decide that that is a strike against your license, a limitation on your license, and therefore they will remove you as […]

When you renew your license, which is about every two years, there are a series of questions that are asked. Sometimes, the questions are ones you do not want to answer, because you have been convicted of a crime in another state or in this state, and you would like no one to know about […]

If you’re going to attempt to have your license restored after it’s been revoked, bear in mind, this is a long, arduous process. The state wants to be assured that whatever problem that caused the revocation has been cured and that it will never happen again. To convince them of this, you have to bring […]

The fact that you have been convicted of a crime does not automatically disqualify you from getting a medical license of any type, whether it be a physician, a nurse, whatever. It depends a lot upon when the crime happened. If you were 16 years old, 17, 18, 19, those would be looked at differently, […]

If you are on the staff of a hospital or an employee of a hospital, and you have done something that they are very unhappy with, and they investigate you and they take administrative action, this can be a very big problem for you. If they suspend you or if they put you on probation […]

If you’re a physician and your insurance company settles a medical malpractice case under your name, you are automatically reported to the National Practitioner Database, and also to the Department of Health of the State of New York. If you have several of these cases, you might well end up having your name publicized by […]

License revocation is not the end of the world. It’s just about the end of the world, but then there is the opportunity to restore your license. The way this works is you have to reapply for your license after three years. Three years have to pass by before you can do the restoration. There’s […]

Requests can be made but, for the most part, the OPD will not remove a sanction unless there is truly a compelling reason.  You should try to have it removed, do not be surprised if the answer is no. This informational blog post was brought to you by Paul E. Walker, an experienced New York City OPMC […]

Take a look at your disability policy, it may replace a great deal of your lost income while you are in Rehab.  But you have to understand that not all disability policies are the same.  The time to carefully read a disability policy to understand its terms is before you buy it, not when you […]

Any physician who has had his/her medical license revoked by New York State may, generally speaking, file an application after three years from the date of revocation with the New York State Department of Education to have the license restored. However, this restoration process is not a simple one and it requires a great deal […]

I recently represented a nurse who applied for a New York State Nursing license.  When she filled out the application there was a question which asked if she had ever been convicted of a crime.  The answer to the question was “yes” because when she was a teenager she was part of a gang that […]

We recently represented a client who had graduated from nursing school and applied for the nursing license. During the application process the client truthfully revealed that approximately 25 years earlier he/she was involved in a violent act with two other people which resulted in the death of a man. The client pleaded guilty to Manslaughter […]

If you are a physician, nurse or other health care professional and are working at a hospital, you must be very careful if the hospital administration decides to punish you for some act or inaction.  Bear in mind that some sanctions will follow you for the rest of you career and will be very harmful […]

If you have had your medical license revoked by the Department of Health, Office of Professional Medical Conduct, (OPMC), you must wait three years before applying to have your license restored. When you do apply, what you are asking for is a Hearing by the Department of Education to determine if you are eligible to […]

Walker Medical Law will work with your doctors to obtain the records and information needed to give you the best opportunity to win your appeal for long term disability benefits. A critical component of your appeal for long term disability benefits is the information that we obtain from your treating physician. You may think that […]

This month, June 2013, we received the decision from the Department of Education that our client is entitled to have his medical license restored after it was revoked 5 years ago due to addiction to narcotics. The client had a history of relapsing with regard to narcotic use and had gone to rehab several times […]

Often OPMC will negotiate with a physician to try to settle an issue through a Consent Order that includes some type of probation. This may in fact be a fair and reasonable maneuver because going to a Hearing might end up with a result that is far worse than what is included in the probation. […]

If your medical license has been revoked, you must wait three years before applying for the restoration of the license. When you do apply you must send the application and other documents with a check in the sum of $750.00 to the State Education Department. This application is not one that can be done simply […]

As with court cases, either OPMC or a physician can appeal the decision of the Hearing committee. During the appeal process, the penalty handed down by the hearing committee is suspended until the Administrative Review Board (consisting of three physicians and two lay people) renders its decision. Additional appeals can be directed the court. This […]