Physician License Defense Attorneys
The California Medical Board takes allegations of misconduct very seriously and often launches an intensive investigation after receiving a complaint from a patient or other individual. Without an experienced license defense attorney to assist you, even at the pre-Accusation phase where formal discipline is sought, it can quickly become an overwhelming experience.
As a California physician, you must successfully negotiate stressful patient situations daily. While your years of education, training and experience have given you considerable expertise in your specialized practice of medicine, the legal and bureaucratic obstacles you may have to negotiate in attempting to avoid discipline or minimize its impact on your license and career are a completely different matter that may often overwhelm even the most astute physician.
When the California Medical Board decides to formally seek discipline of a physician’s license, the do so by filing what is known as an “Accusation.” The filling of this document is the beginning of an aggressive effort by the board to attempt to revoke your license and many physicians feel overwhelmed and even depressed upon receiving it, which is understandable.
The medical board retains the legal services of the California Attorney General, which is the official attorney for the Board, and those attorneys may even make it seem as though retaining defense counsel will not change your odds of success. This is absolutely false and could not be further from the truth, and we have seen this play out, and we are frankly unhappy to hear that the Attorney General makes such untrue statements somewhat routinely. Further, a physician facing formal discipline via an “Accusation” must also suffer the somewhat embarrassing predicament of having that documents posted publicly on the Medical Board’s website, and more specifically via the California Medical Board “BreEZe” website. Unfortunately, many physicians feel as though they are guilty until proven innocent, and we completely sympathize with his sentiment.
Regardless of your particular area of medical practice, you have rights and legal defenses in almost every case imaginable. What is important is that you exercise your legal rights and present an aggressive defense to the Medical Board’s allegations against you contained in the Accusation mentioned above. Your career, reputation and in many cases your family’s wellbeing are certainly at risk.
California Physician License Defense Attorneys
When facing a formal Accusation of professional misconduct or other improper behavior as a physician subjecting you to potential disciplinary action, it is imperative to have experienced legal counsel defending you every step of the way.
At the Law Offices of Brown & Brown, aggressively defending physicians and other health care professionals before the Medical Board of California and other healthcare agencies is our primary area of focus. We understand that
hardworking doctors face a wide array of legal and administrative challenges in this difficult situation and that they deserve superior legal counsel to protect their licenses and careers, so that everything they have worked for is not taken away by the aggressive and often unfair efforts of the Medical Board of California.
At our firm, we are proud of a combined 80+ years of experience, including over 60 combined years of experience in the field of professional license defense so that you can be certain you have the most amount of experience working for you when it comes to medical board accusations.
Medi-Cal & Medicare Fraud Defense
The attorneys at Brown and Brown have vast experience navigating the complex bureaucracy that is MediCal and MediCare at both the State and Federal levels. Out attorneys have negotiated settlements saving our clients accused of MediCal and MediCal fraud millions of dollars. Our founding attorney, Donald B. Brown, retired in 2020, has practiced law in California for over 68 years and has defended a vast array of MediCal and MediCare fraud cases. He has passed his extensive knowledge on to his son, Adam B. Brown, who has taken over the practice as the managing partner and chief trial attorney.
If you are facing or believe you may face a MediCal or MediCare fraud case or investigation from your medical board, contact our attorneys immediately. You should not speak with the investigators from these healthcare programs without counsel. This is extremely important to remember in order to protect yourself, your license, and possibly your assets.
California Medical License Investigation Defense
Most medical license disciplinary actions begin with an investigation after an initial consumer complaint. Sometimes complaints arise from colleagues or administrators at facilities or organizations where physicians are employed.
The most common complaints that warrant an investigation can include:
- Criminal Convictions, including DUI's, drug possession, and others
- Acts of patient negligence
- Wrong or falsified prescriptions
- Sexual misconduct and unappropriate behavior to staff and/or patients
Regardless, these inquiries are often followed up with an aggressive investigation by Medical Board of California investigators, which many times results in a formal “Accusation”. An Accusation is a formal effort to revoke and/or suspend your medical license and is something to take extremely seriously. If you are aware that there is a complaint that is pending or may be pending against you with the Medical Board of California, you should not wait to retain counsel until you hear from them. Most clients who retain us prior to the filing of an Accusation find that they are much happier that they retained us at an early stage to insulate them from speaking with the Board and their inspectors, who may be very aggressive and even threatening in some instances. We have seen the gamut of investigative tactics employed by the board investigators, and the most important rule in such a situation is to retain counsel early to avoid making inadvertent admissions or statements which may be extremely harmful to your case.
If you have any indication or suspicion that an investigation or formal Accusation may be filed against you, you should contact our attorneys immediately. We have dealt with every possible case the Medical Board of California can file, and we will work aggressively to protect you and your license. Being proactive in the retention of counsel in these situations is imperative. Call our physician license defense attorneys today for a free consultation.
Learn How An Experienced Administrative Lawyer Can Help You
From the earliest days of any investigation, the California Medical Board or MediCal/MediCare or TPP (Third Party Payor) is busy gathering information it may use to build a case against you.
Whether the issue is alleged negligence, malpractice, DUI, health care fraud or improper conduct with colleagues or patients, the Board and its lawyers will be committed to gathering information that may be used against you. Not only can our attorneys begin preparing a vigorous defense from day one, we can also tell you what your rights are, and help you prepare a plan to deal with the investigation and avoid communications that could be used against you.
We are extremely thorough in preparing your case for the possibility of an administrative hearing, with an eye towards attempting to avoid that hearing at all costs. Many times, our experienced attorneys are able to reach an acceptable settlement on your behalf, which avoids the necessity, expense, and uncertainty attendant to an administrative hearing, which is almost always in your best interest. The benefits to retaining counsel as soon as you suspect you may be facing any type of investigation, whether it be by the California Medical Board, MediCal/MediCare or a third-party payor cannot be over emphasized.
Regardless Of Where You Practice In California, Our Firm Can Help You
We represent physicians statewide from our Torrance offices and are happy to provide you with video and telephonic conferencing in light of the current Covid-19 pandemic. Whatever your preference, our attorney Adam B. Brown and his team are standing by to provide you with a free initial conference to ease your mind in this very difficult time. We look forward to providing you with the benefit of over 80 years of combined legal experience and welcome your call or email. Call us today at (310) 792-1315.