When a doctor is physically incapable of practicing medicine, he can lose his license temporarily. I’ve had cases where the doctor lost his license in a state because he really was sick. He was sick for a long period of time and sick in such a way that he really was not capable of treating patients whatsoever. After he lost his license, he was in the hospital for months and underwent some very serious types of treatment, both medical and surgical. At some point, New York State, where he also has a license, wanted to talk to him to see what they were going to do about it. Were they going to make him surrender his license?
By the time they got around to this, the doctor was in physical rehab for his injuries and I was able to get several documents from his treating physicians stating that he now was physically capable of treating patients. Even though, at the time, he was still not back treating patients in his home state. New York State paused when they saw that and decided they were not going to say that he could not practice. Now, about a year later, he was on the mend. They agreed with me that he was on his way to mending and being able to treat patients again. Therefore, they did not ask him to surrender his license. He does not have to go back to another hearing to prove that he is physically fit.
He is going to be able now to practice in the State of New York. He is going to be able to come here and practice while he still has to go through a hearing in his home state to be able to practice there. It’s a mystery wrapped in an enigma, so to speak, of why they won’t let him practice in his home state but he can practice in New York. The issue was just that time passed, he got better, but the fact was he was forced to surrender his ability to practice in his home state and it just takes a long time administratively to get back on track and get them to approve you. In New York State, he never lost his privileges and now he is able to practice here.
Walker Medical Law serves the greater New York area with quality legal services representing physicians and other medical providers facing legal and license issues. If you need our legal services, contact our New York office for a consultation.
