If you are facing disciplinary action by the Texas Medical Board (TMB), your medical license and career are in jeopardy. It is critical that you treat any issues with the TMB seriously, even if you believe the complainant against you is baseless or that your actions constitute only a minor violation of the TMB rules.
Will the Texas Medical Board Seek Serious Penalties for Minor Violations?
First, the TMB can seek serious penalties for any violation. The TMB follows disciplinary guidelines in the Board Rules which suggest certain penalties based on the nature of the violation. These guidelines are in place to provide a baseline for what action the TMB can take against license-holders; however, the TMB is often able to get around them and seek heavier penalties than may initially seem justified by the guidelines.
Multiple violations of Board rules, even “minor” ones, can raise the penalty sought to a higher level. The TMB’s staff attorney will look for every possible violation that may have occurred, including broad categories of such as “unprofessional or dishonorable conduct.” It is not uncommon for the TMB to use blanket allegations in order to ratchet up the disciplinary penalties and fees sought.
Your Medical license defense attorney should be quite familiar with these sorts of blanket allegations, as they appear in the vast majority of complaint letters, and can argue them down to narrow the allegations and achieve a lighter penalty.
Second, the TMB has the authority to resolve minimal statutory violations with an Agreed Order signed by the physician and an administrative penalty. Minimal statutory violations include conduct such as failure to provide medical records in a timely fashion, failure to store or discard records in a manner that preserves confidentiality, failure to complete required Continuing Medical Education hours, failure to sign a death certificate, or inappropriate advertising.
Further, the TMB rules allow the Board to consider mitigating factors when determining an appropriate disciplinary action. Mitigating factors that may warrant less severe action by the board include, but are not limited to: self-reported and voluntary admissions of violation, implementation of remedial measures to correct or mitigate harm from the violation, other relevant circumstances reducing the seriousness of the misconduct. 22 Tex. Admin. Code § 190.15.
Hire an Experienced Medical License Defense Attorney
If you have been notified of a complaint filed against you with the Texas Medical Board, BERTOLINO LLP can help. We are experienced medical license defense attorneys and we know how to navigate the TMB’s complaint process. We are prepared to represent you at any legal hearing or proceeding regarding your professional license, including:
- Temporary Suspension Hearings
- Informal Settlement Conferences (ISC)
- Show Compliance Proceedings
- State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) Proceedings
Our firm believes that immediately consulting an experienced medical license defense attorney to review allegations of misconduct helps ensure the most favorable outcome in your case. Our results speak for themselves.
BERTOLINO LLP represents licensed professionals across the entire State of Texas. If you are facing disciplinary action from a professional licensing board, contact us today or call (512) 476-5757 and schedule a case evaluation.
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