As a practicing New York State physician, you may sadly grow accustomed to witnessing patients pass away every single day. But you may still be sympathetic to the fact that the family members of your deceased patient are experiencing a great loss in their lives. This may even be their first experience with death, so they may be taking it particularly hard. During their grieving journey, they may grow angry and possibly blame you for their loved one’s passing. With this, they may go as far as reporting you to the New York State Department of Health’s Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC) or Office of Professional Discipline (OPD). Follow along to find out whether it is considered medical misconduct if one of your patients dies while under your direct healthcare and how one of the proficient OPMC/OPD misconduct defense lawyers at Walker Medical Law can help your fight.
Who is permitted to file an OPMC complaint against me?
Typically, the OPMC receives complaints directly from patients who have been made the victims of medical misconduct incidents. But when a patient sadly passes away, their family members are allowed to come forward and file a complaint on their behalf.
It is also worth mentioning that any party who merely witnessed or has grounds to suspect your potential medical misconduct may report you. This may include your colleagues or employer who have seen your negligent treatment of a patient firsthand. Or, this may even be a close friend or family member who has seen your negligent behaviors and actions in your personal life, and who therefore has reasonable fears that this may be translating into your work life.
Is it considered medical misconduct if a patient dies?
To reiterate, you may sadly have the patients under your direct care pass away more often than you would like. This is simply part of your line of work within the medical field. Therefore, the OPMC believes that a patient’s death alone does not automatically constitute an act of medical misconduct.
Rather, a patient’s family may have to produce sufficient proof within their complaint that you behaved or acted negligently while providing healthcare to their loved one. Also, this proof must demonstrate that your negligent behavior or actions meant you failed to meet the standard of care established by the New York State medical community. Ultimately, they must connect your failure to meet the standard of care directly with their loved one’s death.
To combat this proof against you, you must provide some of your own. This may be through any medical records you have saved on file for this patient, along with testimonies from your colleagues or employer who witnessed your treatment of this patient firsthand. In conclusion, as a practicing New York State physician, there is no one better you can turn to than one of the talented OPMC/OPD misconduct defense lawyers from our firm. So please, call us at Walker Medical Law as soon as possible.
