Optometrists or opticians are professionals who provide eye care. Their main duties are to diagnose, treat, and manage eye-related illnesses. It will take you years of intense studies and a hefty amount of money to build this profession and achieve optometry licensure. Despite this, it only takes a single mistake to risk your license. No optician would want to be served with a notice of inquiry or official accusations by the Board of Optometry due to allegations regarding their medical capabilities. These complaints can result in a license suspension or denial of your license application, putting your livelihood at risk.
You should act immediately by hiring a proficient license defense attorney if you are facing any allegations. Even if you are faced with false accusations, the judge can suspend or revoke your license if he/she believes the story. At the Riverside License Attorney, we understand how much time, money, and effort you have invested in your profession and reputation. We will take any necessary legal measures to reduce or defeat any allegations against you.
Crucial Duties Of An Optometrist
Most people underestimate the importance of having good eyesight until they face eye complications. It is at this moment that they run to optometrists for assistance. These professionals have many duties, including:
- Conducting comprehensive vision and eye tests
- Diagnosing eye defects like astigmatism, glaucoma, and myopia
- Prescribing medications, contact eyeglasses, and lenses
Diagnosing sight issues, analyzing vision tests, and prescribing appropriate glasses or lenses require the right training, attention to detail, and resources. You must have in-depth knowledge, experience, and the ability to use highly specialized equipment, as laser surgery has been added to the list of procedures opticians can perform. Obtaining this expertise and these skills takes years of studying and working to build trust and reputation among your clients.
However, a single ethical mistake can risk your license, despite your offering these crucial services and having undergone rigorous training, tests, and licensure processes. One mistake can significantly affect your profession. You can permanently lose your license if you face serious allegations. Losing your license means you will not be allowed to offer optometry services. It could be challenging to provide for your family because you have no income. Fortunately, with the help of a competent license attorney, you can fight the allegations you are facing.
Sometimes, allegations lodged against opticians are invalid. A simple mistake, such as an act of negligence, false allegations, unrealistic expectations, or misdiagnosis, can have you subjected to disciplinary measures. Some errors should not end your career, but individuals who file allegations through the board’s consumer site exaggerate the facts. As a result, you can face severe repercussions. A good optometry license defense attorney will not judge you by your actions but will work hard to protect your profession and license using all the available legal defenses.
Optometry Licensing
The Board of Optometry is the body charged with licensing and disciplining optometrists in California. It often receives accusations through its consumer affairs website. You will receive a notice of investigation if the accusations are valid. You should hire a licensed defense attorney right away when this happens.
Securing an optometry license is not easy. Besides educational requirements, you will be required to meet multiple professional requirements before you secure your license. The provisions will remain in effect even after you obtain your license, and a violation of these requirements can attract substantial penalties.
Any punishment that the board imposes can have a great impact on your business, even if your license is not suspended. Any disciplinary action imposed by the board, including a fine, denial of a license application, probation, or suspension, will be posted online for public view. This, too, can significantly affect your optometry profession because of a bad reputation. It will be challenging to retain existing clients or attract new ones, even if the license is later reinstated. Prospective employers can also use this to deny your job application. As a result, you should allocate your resources and energy to defending against any potential accusations from the board.
The Board Of Optometry
The board of optometry does not exist to help optometrists. Instead, it was put in place to protect patients and consumers from substandard or unsafe eye medical care. Its mission is to work for society by promoting and enforcing guidelines that protect the safety of eye patients and ensure quality eye care and treatment.
However, even if the board is not installed to serve optometrists, that does not mean its decisions are always against these professionals. Still, this board is not certainly in favor of optometrists. An optometrist will require a license defense attorney who understands how the board works and how to negotiate for a better outcome.
The board can overlook critical mitigating factors in your favor if you have no legal representation. It can easily believe invalid allegations to please the public. Doing so is not fair and can make you face severe disciplinary measures even if you are innocent.
Every accusation leveled against you, whether valid or invalid, can significantly affect your career. A license defense attorney will be helpful in addressing the breach and negotiating with the board for a fair ruling. Most attorneys know how to negotiate and will ensure you achieve a favorable outcome.
The myriad of potential allegations that can be filed against you include the following:
- Unethical behavior
- Failing to comply with the infection control and other H&S standards
- Violating the terms of your license probation
- Failing to consider patients’ requests for their records
- Operating beyond the scope of your license
- Unwarranted prescribing or treatment
- Incompetence, negligence, or gross negligence
- Letting assistants without a license work under you
- Prescribing drugs without a proper medical examination
- Sexual misconduct
- Falsifying or failing to keep proper records
- Alcohol or drug addiction. Especially when it happens at work or when treating patients
- Operating your business from an outlawed area
- Misleading or false advertising strategies
- A past sentence that substantially communicates your capacity to carefully and skillfully continue offering eye care
- Offering optometry services without a valid license
- Unprofessional behavior
- Securing an optometry practice license fraudulently
The board uses uniform disciplinary guidelines to ensure equal treatment for the same allegations. The guidelines are available online and can be used by any administrative law judge. You can end up with license revocation if the board or ALJ hearing your case establishes that you lack the capacity to offer eye care safely and professionally. An optician can also secure a stayed revocation, but with probation.
You will be required to cover the expenses the board incurred in investigating your disciplinary case. Similarly, you will pay the monitoring costs if on probation. Your attorney can negotiate a workable payment plan with the board if you are unable to raise the money. The plan can help you make payments for a certain period until the money you owe is cleared. Your probation can be canceled if you miss out on the payments while on probation. It is important to develop a reasonable payment plan.
Sometimes, you can agree with the board without necessarily going for an administrative hearing. However, an agreement can also be reached during the hearing. Either way, the board and the judge must decide if a settlement is valid before approving it. A skilled license defense attorney can first pursue a dismissal of your case. If it does not work, your attorney can try to convince the board and secure a settlement without the case going for an administrative hearing.
The judge can impose a citation followed by a fine, in addition to a typical punishment. Additionally, the court can order you through an abatement order to stop the activity that attracts the fine. A citation can appear as a lesser punishment, but you must fight it because it can taint your reputation once your clients learn about it.
Facts In Mitigation or Aggravation Of The Punishment
An administrative hearing is different from a court trial because it does not focus only on determining whether you are guilty or not. In some situations, your attorney can pursue a dismissal of your case by presenting evidence in your favor, like:
- Cross-examining witnesses presented by the prosecutor
- Poking holes in the prosecutor’s evidence or arguments, and
- Having expert witnesses
However, your attorney can present mitigating evidence, seeking to reduce penalties in situations where no defense strategy can save you from the penalties. On the other hand, the prosecutor can present aggravating factors to increase the penalties. The judge will take into account aggravating and mitigating evidence when providing a sentence in your case.
The following are some of the evidence that can lead to an aggravation of the punishment:
- Committing an offense against a minor or in the presence of a child
- Refusing to provide a sample for testing in violation of probation conditions
- A violation of probation conditions imposed by the board
- You have patterned conduct with at least one conviction or violation similar to the current one
- Having a record of prior discipline
- Employer’s or patient’s violation of trust through things like embezzlement and fraud
- Things that put the health, safety, or trust of a patient at risk
If the above facts are present in your case, the judge can impose a more severe punishment. However, your license defense attorney can fight these aggravating factors by presenting the following mitigation evidence:
- Cooperation with the investigators
- Lapse of a significant amount of time after the offense or conviction happened
- Lack of prior criminal or disciplinary measures. Working with the board during the investigation
- Showing the unlikehood of the offense recurring
- Admission or recognition by the respondent of the offense
The terms of probation or disciplinary measures the judge will impose will depend on how your attorney and the prosecutor present the aggravation and mitigation evidence. You should hire a competent attorney who has handled situations like this before and achieved a favorable outcome.
Equal Standards for Substance Abuse by Licensed Professionals
The board understands that professionals addicted to substances risk the safety, health, and trust of patients. As a result, it has stringent guidelines regarding uniform standards in these situations. The board can order you to undergo a clinical diagnostic assessment. This is often performed by an expert holding a valid, unrestricted license. The assessor must have experience of 36 months in evaluating professionals with substance abuse or addiction issues. The expert must also be approved by the board.
You will be ordered to stop offering your services once the evaluation process starts. Similarly, you will be asked to undergo at least two random tests every week as you wait for the assessment. The probation officer will decide if you require any treatment if you end up with probation. You can also be ordered to participate in support groups. The board can appoint someone to monitor you at work if probation allows you to continue providing your services. A violation of these conditions can result in license revocation or probation cancellation.
The board will allow you to continue offering your services in case you pass the evaluation. Sometimes, you will be allowed to continue practicing under the restriction of probation terms if you fail the assessment. Your attorney can negotiate for more favorable probationary conditions before they are imposed. You will face less restrictive probationary terms or a minimum probationary period if your attorney’s negotiations succeed.
Statute Of Limitations For Challenging The Allegations
Once you are notified of formal accusations, you will have 15 days from the date you were informed to file a notice of defense. You should secure the services of a skilled license attorney after receiving the notice. An attorney will work hard to ensure you get better outcomes.
Find An Optometrist License Attorney Near Me
It is normal to feel scared and confused when you learn that a board investigation has been launched against you. No matter how serious the accusations against you are, you should not panic. Instead, you should contact an experienced attorney to help you fight the accusations leveled against you. At Riverside License Attorney, we have committed and experienced attorneys who can handle any case. We do not keep our clients waiting. When you contact us, we will act fast and pursue the best possible outcome of your case. For dependable legal representation, contact us today at 951-410-8612 to talk to one of our attorneys.
