Administrative Complaints and Hearings

For a licensed healthcare professional, receiving an administrative complaint can be extremely unsettling. Administrative complaints can put your license, career and reputation in jeopardy. The action you take after receiving an administrative complaint will impact your professional future as well as your ability to provide for yourself and your family.

The healthcare attorneys at Norman Spencer Law Group are dedicated to helping licensed healthcare professionals defend their license – and their livelihood. With years of experience in the healthcare law field, and has helped hundreds of healthcare professionals, we can help protect your rights, you livelihood, and your license!

Being a healthcare worker doesn’t have to be a stressful business but it is. If you are a physician, a nurse, a mental health professional, a physical therapist, a pharmacist, you chose your profession because you wanted to help people. After going through years of education and working experience you know  that you can. You also know that you are held to certain legal standards of care and high moral standards of conduct. You are a dedicated and hardworking professional with hard-earned skills and reputation and you probably have people who depend on you. One day you receive a letter in the mail, an administrative complaint filed against you, and you feel like your life is over.

Unfortunately, you are one of many thousands of American healthcare workers around the country who had disciplinary charges and complaints filed against them. Fortunately, you don’t have to go through this ordeal alone, and you should not even think of doing that!

Our firm, Norman Spencer Law Group, has helped hundreds and hundreds of healthcare professionals get through this unpleasant process. We have years of experience and have achieved great results. As much as you think your career is over, please be assured that things may not be as bad as they seem. Of the many doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, psychologists, physical therapists, and other clients we helped, the vast majority did not lose their licenses and are happily practicing their professions to this day. 

Obviously, the outcome of any case will depend on the facts of that case. The best thing you can do in this situation is call Norman Spencer Law Group. There is a good chance we have seen similar cases and successfully helped clients like you. If you speak with one of our lawyers, you will have a pretty good idea of what to expect and you will certainly feel better about the situation than you did before you called.

So, what are administrative complaints? Simply put, they are documents accusing you of alleged professional misconduct, whatever that misconduct may be. They are always based on allegations submitted to an administrative agency such as a professional board or a regulatory agency, most often an employer, a disgruntled patient, a competitor, an insurance company, although they can be submitted by anyone.

If you are a licensed healthcare professional and are facing a complaint against you, you can rely on our firm to help you! At Norman Spencer we have dealt with hundreds upon hundreds of administrative complaints and we can definitely assist you! 

Once you receiving a copy of the complaint, you need to respond to it a timely manner. We can help you do that. If a response is not sent within the allotted time frame, the you will be waiving all rights to a hearing during which a defense can be presented. The complaint is then transmitted directly to the board or another administrative agency for a final sanction determination. 

Responding to the complaint is important, but it’s equally important to respond very carefully. How you respond to the complaint has a major impact on the outcome of your case, particularly the likelihood of having the compliant dismissed or obtaining a favorable settlement. This is why you should not do it yourself. Consulting with an experienced lawyer such as the one you can find at Norman Spencer Law Group can help ensure your response is properly worded as well as responsive to the allegations. 

When our attorneys help you respond to a complaint, we investigate the issue and gather necessary documents to ensure the response is accurate, truthful and aids in the your defense. Once the response is submitted, a hearing can be scheduled, giving you a chance to refute the allegations. 

If you are a healthcare professional and you are named in an administrative complaint filed by a licensing authority or any other agency, we recommend that you follow a few simple rules. If you do, there is a virtual guarantee that your chances of a successful outcome will increase significantly.

1. Maintain positive attitude and perspective. Things often look worse than what they seem. It is how human brain operates. Know that many factors determine the outcome of your case, no matter how bad you think it seems. You can get professional help and that is the best thing you can do!
2. Do not attempt to solve the problem by yourself. You can try but there is a reason you are a healthcare provider and not a lawyer. Lawyers don’t try to heal themselves and you shouldn’t try to be lawyer.
3. Contact a competent attorney. Norman Spencer Law Group can provide you with all the help you will need.
4. Get as much evidence as you can to help prepare for the hearing.

Healthcare practitioners that represent themselves in an administrative complaint typically do not yield favorable results. The state will be represented by a corporation counsel or assistant attorney general. Both have extensive experience dealing with administrative complaints and are well-versed in obtaining sanctions against licensed professionals who choose to represent themselves. 

It’s also imperative to keep in mind that the primary duty of the professional board is to protect the public, and they are extremely adept in disciplinary proceedings. It’s up to the healthcare professional to fully present their argument in the best possible light, proving they can practice safely and are not a danger to the public. 

Healthcare professionals who choose to move forward without the support of a seasoned attorney are consistently outmatched and ineffective. Hiring a lawyer experienced in administrative law provides the support and knowledge needed to move forward with a strong and effective defense. 

The legal team at Norman Spencer Law Group has successfully represented many doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals during the entire administrative complaint process. 

There are two types of hearings that may be part of the administrative complaint process: informal and formal hearings. Informal hearings take place before a professional board, while formal hearings are overseen by an administrative law judge. 

Informal hearings do not give the healthcare professional a chance to dispute the allegations. They are typically chosen when the practitioner does not dispute the facts put forth in the complaint but would like to ask the board for mercy through a settlement, sanction or other disciplinary action.

Formal hearings are the optimum choice when the facts of the allegations are in dispute and the healthcare professional is seeking a dismissal or other type of justice. Requesting a formal hearing is the preferable choice, as it gives the healthcare professional the opportunity to be heard. 

If you don’t exercise your right to a formal hearing, the board is allowed to view the complaint and evidence against you as true. You will lose the right to refute the allegations before an administrative law judge in a formal hearing. 

Administrative hearings have several possible outcomes. These include:

• Reprimand
• Fines
• Probation
• Revocation or suspension of license
• Settlement 
• Dismissal 

The outcome, in turn, can affect your professional license and career in a number of ways. Negative outcomes can result in loss of employment, hospital privileges or DEA registration. Healthcare professionals may also be excluded from Medicare, HMO and PPO programs.

Protecting your license throughout the administrative complaint process is best done with a qualified lawyer by your side. Not all attorneys are experienced in handling these case. The healthcare law attorneys at Norman Spencer Law Group have years of experience successfully representing healthcare professionals from all disciplines in all types of administrative hearings. are at your service. Contact our office to schedule a consultation today!