If you are a holder of a veterinary license in Kern County, a formal accusation against you puts your entire career at risk. Fortunately, you can take action after learning about it and fight the allegation to avoid the suspension or revocation of your license. Our skilled attorneys at Kern County License Attorney can help you with that. We understand how hard you have worked to build a career and obtain a professional license. We also understand how much you and your dependents rely on your license for a livelihood. We can develop a strategy with you that could convince the Veterinary Medical Board to drop the allegations or to be more lenient in its disciplinary action against you.
Reasons to Fight for Your Veterinary License
Being a licensed veterinarian does not come easy in California. It takes years of training and dedication to develop the skills needed to deliver quality, reliable, and professional services. Additionally, you need more time to gain the experience needed to work independently. The Veterinary Medical Board requires high qualifications to license you. In addition to having the right skills, the board requires a greater understanding of the law, especially the laws governing your profession. You must prove your eligibility for licensing by meeting all the board’s requirements before you are licensed. However, this is still not enough to keep your license.
Even after proving your suitability for the job and obtaining the required skills and experience, you must carefully work every day to protect your license. If you make a mistake, it could be held against you, putting your entire career at risk. You could be accused of unprofessionalism, incompetence, or negligence, which may result in license revocation. Thus, you should always be prepared to defend your license.
If you face accusations of any kind, the board can discipline you, which puts you at risk of losing your license or the reputation you have been building for years. Here are the reasons you should work with a license attorney:
To Protect Your Livelihood
Your career in veterinary medicine is your livelihood. You depend on it for your necessities and the needs of your dependents. Without your license, you will need to develop a new skillset to start earning a living. Defending your license against suspension or revocation by your licensing board means protecting your livelihood. Your license gives you access to your clients. You can offer your services throughout California as long as you have a valid professional license. If you lose it due to an allegation, you lose the only means of livelihood you have. You must take action against the allegation you face to continue working.
To Safeguard Your Reputation
When people are looking for a veterinarian, they hire someone with a good reputation for providing safe, professional services. It takes years of offering excellent services to build a good reputation that will earn you clients for a long time. An allegation of incompetence or unprofessionalism can ruin this reputation in an instant, even if it is untrue. You must act fast to stop a formal allegation from ruining your reputation by engaging a competent license attorney. They will develop a fighting strategy to prevent lasting damage to your reputation, which could cost you your current and future clients.
To Combat Malicious Complaints
Not every complaint the Veterinary Medical Board receives is actually true. Some people file false accusations out of jealousy or a desire for revenge. Sadly, even an untrue accusation is capable of ruining your reputation and a career that has cost you so much money and time to build. Taking action immediately after learning of an allegation can help combat it before it ruins your livelihood. Your attorney can find out the truth and use it to convince the board to dismiss the allegation before a formal complaint is filed against you.
To Prevent Unfair Punishment
If the board finds a veterinary licence holder culpable of the allegations against them, it takes disciplinary action. The type of discipline it chooses mainly depends on the seriousness of the allegation and its effect on the public. A serious accusation that puts animals or the public at risk of harm can result in the suspension or revocation of your license. Sadly, sometimes the board’s disciplinary action does not match the allegation. Having an attorney by your side ensures that your best interests are considered when the board determines the appropriate discipline for your actions or inaction. An attorney ensures you are treated fairly.
Common Accusations Veterinarians Face in California
Veterinarians face various accusations and disciplinary actions. While the Veterinary Medical Board does not always act on all allegations it receives from the public, it could take action against you if the allegation against you can be substantiated. Here are some of the most serious allegations that could result in disciplinary action by the board:
Incompetence and Negligence
If you fail to meet the standard of care required of you as a veterinarian, you can be accused of incompetence or negligence. Here are some of the circumstances under which such allegations can arise:
- When you make a surgical error when performing a procedure, such that you inflict an unnecessary injury or pain on an animal
- When you misdiagnose, fail to diagnose, recommend incorrect treatment, or fail to refer a case to a specialist in a reasonable time.
- When you fail to monitor the animals under your care, especially after administering anesthesia, or when you should provide post-operative care
- When you prescribe, dispense, or administer treatment to an animal before examining and developing a treatment plan
Record-Keeping Violations
You could face disciplinary action for failing to maintain accurate and clear medical records for all the animals you treat. Additionally, the board can take action against you for the following:
- Altering any medical record for fraudulent purposes
- Keeping incomplete documents or failing to record everything, including diagnosis, treatment plans, drug dosages, and surgical notes.
- Having inadequate treatment inventory logs, or inaccurate or missing records, especially for controlled substances
Mismanagement of Drugs or Controlled Substances
The board can take serious disciplinary action against you for dispensing drugs, especially controlled substances, without a valid license, or for being in possession or dispensing expired or misbranded drugs. Using some of the prescription medications in your practice for personal use is also a serious violation.
Animal Cruelty
This is one way in which you can be accused of unprofessional conduct. An accusation can arise if you are suspected of performing procedures that subject animals to unnecessary distress or pain, or when you directly mistreat an animal under your care. You are also legally required to report any suspected case of animal abuse. Failure to do so can result in a formal complaint.
Remember that it is your responsibility to ensure that the animals under your care receive the best treatment. Thus, it is a serious violation if you fail to supervise the staff working with you, or if you allow unqualified employees to perform tasks that require licensing.
Fraudulent Acts
You put your license at risk if you engage in fraudulent acts, such as insurance fraud. Fraud refers to any act that is performed for undeserved gain. For example, charging for services not rendered, or offering more services than required for a higher pay.
Criminal Law Violations
Some crimes substantially affect your professionalism as a veterinarian. These include drug-related crimes and DUI. The Veterinary Medical Board can take disciplinary action against you if you are charged or convicted of such a criminal act.
What To Do if Facing a Disciplinary Action by the Veterinary Medical Board
The Veterinary Medical Board exists primarily to protect the public. Everything it does, including screening trained veterinarians for licensing, is geared toward ensuring that the public receives only professional, safe services. If the board receives a complaint from the public about the incompetence, negligence, or unprofessionalism of a licensed veterinarian, it does not hesitate to take action to protect the public. This means that it will not be lenient with you when choosing a disciplinary action for your misconduct. You must take action to defend your actions for a favorable resolution.
Remember that not all allegations trigger a board action. If the board receives an unsubstantiated complaint, it dismisses it quickly without taking any action. However, if the complaint against you seems valid, the board can investigate it further to determine its authenticity and gather evidence against you. When it makes this decision, you will receive a notice of a pending hearing, which you must attend with or without counsel.
The right time to take action is when you receive this notice, and the best action to take is to speak to a license attorney. They will ensure you understand the severity of the allegation, possible disciplinary action, and what you can do to influence the outcome of the administrative process. Your attorney will also gather evidence that could be useful in defending your license and fighting for the best possible outcome in the matter.
Thus, the first thing to do once you learn about the allegation is to hire a license attorney. Choose an attorney with the skills and experience to defend professional licenses like yours. Also, choose a reputable attorney who is available to investigate your case and develop the best defense strategy. The attorney must also have your best interests in mind. They must be willing to use their best defense strategies to defend your license against revocation, suspension, or probation.
Here are the steps you can take with your attorney to defend your veterinary license and reputation:
Respond to the Accusations
If the Veterinary Medical Board files a formal accusation against you or issues a statement, you must respond to the accusation. The requirement is usually to file a notice of defense within 15 days of receiving the notice. Then, you will be allowed to defend yourself against the allegations you face. With the help of your attorney, you can do this with compelling evidence or by introducing mitigating factors to influence the outcome of your case.
Gather and Use Evidence in Your Favor
You should start gathering and preparing evidence to defend yourself against the allegations. Your attorney will ensure you understand the kind of evidence you need, based on the allegations you face. Examples include witness statements, medical documents, and your patients’ records. Prepare anything that you believe can support your case.
Prepare for the Hearing
Once the board completes its investigation, it will hold a hearing, which will be presided over by an administrative judge. In the hearing, the board will present all evidence against you. You must prepare well to counter the allegations against you with evidence. Your attorney can also use any mitigating factors to influence the judge’s final decision.
For example, they can prove that this is your first formal allegation in so many years, to gain the judge’s favor. They can also demonstrate how well you have been treating animals since you obtained your license to prove that this allegation was only a mistake or a one-time event. Additionally, your attorney can provide evidence to prove that you are fully rehabilitated and capable of continuing your practice without further violations.
The kind of defense you use during the hearing will depend on the kind of disciplinary action you face, whether a citation, public reprimand, license probation, revocation, or suspension.
Find an Experienced Veterinary License Defense Lawyer Near Me
A formal allegation against your veterinary license in Kern County can mark the end of a career that has taken you so much time and cost you a lot of money to build. The Veterinary Medical Board will take stern action against you if your actions put animals or the public at risk of harm. It will not hesitate to cancel or suspend your license for years if it deems it necessary to protect the public.
At Kern County License Attorney, we understand how important this is. However, you deserve a fair hearing or a second chance in case you make an honest mistake. We can help you defend your license and career against any allegation. Call us at 661- 558-1950 to learn more about our services.
