A plethora of worries may flood your mind upon getting notice that the New York State Department of Health’s Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC) or Office of Professional Discipline (OPD) wants to investigate you. Specifically, you may not only worry about how this affects you career-wise, but hand-in-hand you may also worry about how this affects you financially speaking. That is, you may already be bracing for the costly legal proceedings that lay ahead. Read on to discover how much an OPMC or OPD investigation is going to cost you and how one of the seasoned New York attorneys representing uninsured physicians at Walker Medical Law can work to minimize your damages.
How much is an OPMC or OPD investigation going to cost me?
Your OPMC or OPD investigation alone may last up to nine months. Then, the complete resolution, whether via a settlement or prosecution, may not be reached for two years or more. This means that you may rack up significant legal fees along the way. This is not to mention that the OPMC or OPD Board may resolve to charge you with fines of up to $10,00 per offense you have been found guilty of committing.
You may rest a little easier knowing that your Claims Made Medical Malpractice Insurance Policy may cover some or all of these legal fees. That is, depending on your selected policy and the nature of the investigation, this coverage may span anywhere from $25,000 to $100,000 or more. With that being said, you must also buy into the “tail” of this policy. This is so you may receive this same coverage if an investigation commences after you retire.
What are other costs associated with a medical misconduct accusation?
In addition to reporting you to the OPMC or OPD, a patient may take it upon themselves to file a medical malpractice claim against you.
If this is treated as a civil lawsuit, the New York State civil court may order you to pay compensatory and punitive damages alike. Of note, New York State law does not impose damage caps for medical malpractice claims, so this ordered payment can be quite significant. But if this is treated as a criminal case, the New York State criminal court may order you to pay certain fines.
At the end of the day, you may have to pay the ultimate price of indefinitely losing your medical license. Evidently, the cost of losing your livelihood for the foreseeable future is almost incalculable. So, during this trying time, you can rely on one of the competent New York attorneys representing uninsured physicians to serve as the support system you need. Please seek the legal counsel of Walker Medical Law today.
