Are Medical Licenses in Jeopardy after a Malpractice Lawsuit?
One of the worst things that can happen to a doctor professionally is to be sued for medical malpractice. Malpractice suits can mean years of meetings, document production, and stress. A money judgment in favor of the patient in rare cases will mean that you will be on the hook financially. You may believe that your reputation has been tarnished, and it is possible that your malpractice insurance premiums will rise, sometimes to the point of hardship.
One consequence that is unlikely to happen is that you will lose your medical license to practice following a malpractice lawsuit. A malpractice lawsuit is initiated by a patient who alleges they have been injured due to a doctor’s negligence.
On the other hand, the Medical Disciplinary Board's purpose is to consider allegations of misconduct or malfeasance by members of the medical professions and to recommend appropriate discipline. Medical Board matters begin with a complaint. Sometimes the complaint is made by patients, but colleagues, agencies and employees could also make such a complaint.
Complaints that lead to disciplinary measures often do not have a malpractice competent. In many cases, there is no injured patient. Instead, complaints typically involve a doctor’s ethics, professionalism and office practices, such as:
- Alcohol or drug use by the doctor;
- Fraudulent prescription writing;
- Billing practices;
- Patient interaction;
- Office bookkeeping;
- Failure to pay child support;
- Sexual misconduct; and
- Misleading advertising.
However, in some cases, a malpractice suit will result in a doctor losing his or her license. For example, very egregious mistakes, multiple malpractice lawsuits filed against the doctor, or in cases where a doctor’s unprofessional conduct, such as impairment on the job, led to the malpractice, a doctor could face consequences with the medical board.
Contact an Illinois Medical License Defense Attorney
If you believe that your license to practice medicine is under scrutiny and may be taken away from you, you should contact a trusted Illinois medical license defense lawyer as your first step. The attorney at The Law Offices of Joseph J. Bogdan, Inc. not only is an accomplished professional license defense attorney but also has a medical background as he has Pharmaceutical Doctorate degree from the University of Illinois College of Pharmacy at Chicago.
This combination means that you will have someone experienced with legal proceedings who also understands the subject matter of the case and who understands the situation you are in. Our firm strives to provide aggressive yet personalized representation to doctors who are facing licensure loss. Call us today at 630-310-1267.
Source:
https://www.idfpr.com/profs/Boards/meddisc.asp