Having a driving while intoxicated (DWI) charge on your criminal record can greatly diminish your opportunities for future employment. And this is especially the case if you are a practicing physician, as you may have to deal with the New Tork State Department of Health’s Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC) as well. Follow along to find out what you should do if you are accused of drunk driving as a physician and how one of the proficient OPMC/OPD misconduct defense lawyers at Walker Medical Law can help protect your medical license.
What are the penalties for drunk driving in New York State?
First of all, New York State has an established set of penalties for a DWI charge. They vary depending on what offense this is (i.e., first, second, or third offense), among other factors. A specific list of penalties is as follows:
- First-offense DWI:
- A jail term of up to one year.
- A fine of anywhere between $500 to $1,000.
- A revoked driver’s license for at least six months.
- Second-offense DWI:
- A jail term of up to four years.
- A fine of anywhere between $1,000 to $5,000.
- A revoked driver’s license for at least one year.
- Third-offense DWI:
- A jail term of up to seven years.
- A fine of anywhere between $2,000 to $10,000.
- A revoked driver’s license for at least one year.
As a physician, what happens if I am accused of drunk driving?
As a physician, a revoked driver’s license may be the least of your worries after a drunk driving charge. This is because the OPMC will undoubtedly intervene and may just revoke your medical license. This means that you may be barred from practicing indefinitely.
To avoid this, you may be able to enter a settlement agreement with the OPMC. Though, this is so long as your drunk driving incident was relatively minor. That is, you may have to argue the following:
- You may have to emphasize that you did not cause an auto accident with your drunk driving incident, if applicable.
- You may have to emphasize that you had a low blood-alcohol content level at the time of your drunk driving incident, if applicable.
- You may have to emphasize that you did not receive any other charges at the time of your drunk driving incident, if applicable.
And if successful, you may also be able to avoid having this incident appear on your profile in the OPMC database. This means that future employers and patients may not be made aware of this case you underwent.
Regardless of what your specific circumstances may be, you must not second-guess your instinct in retaining the services of one of the talented New York physician defense lawyers from Walker Medical Law. Schedule your initial consultation with our firm today.
