Your career and livelihood could be at risk if you are a holder of an optometry license in California and you have been notified of a board investigation or an upcoming Optometry Board accusation. Given the time and money you have invested in acquiring your license, you should not give it up without a fight. You should move fast and seek the guidance of a committed license defense attorney. An attorney will do everything possible to minimize the severity of the board's disciplinary action. If you require an attorney, you can count on our committed attorneys at the San Diego License Attorney to help. Our attorneys have the experience, training, and tools needed to win a favorable outcome for your case.

The Valuable Duties Of Optometrists

Most people do not think about their eyesight until they experience an issue. This is when they remember to seek the services of an optometrist. Optometrists’ everyday tasks take optometrists in various directions, including:

  • Development of customized treatment programs
  • Diagnosing a broad range of eye illnesses
  • Prescription of glasses

An optometrist requires in-depth insight,hands-on experience, and the knowledge of using specialized equipment. The job is imposing, given that most optometrists now specialize in laser eye surgical procedures.

To qualify as an optometrist, you must undergo vigorous training and numerous tests. You must also endure the costly licensing process to be a recognized professional optometrist. Sadly, you could easily watch your license be revoked or suspended. The best optometrists also make mistakes. One mistake could lead to an accusation and investigation that can risk your license. Most of the time, the allegations that optometrists face are invalid. Most optometrists are accused of misdiagnosis, acts of negligence, and deviation from the required standards of care. Often, this could be wrongful liability for outcomes out of the doctor’s control or due to patients’ unrealistic expectations.

Most optometrists handle their eye patients seriously. Similarly, you should take any complaint leveled against you seriously. Some complaints on the board’s consumer affairs site are misleading or exaggerated. Even though you make an error, the repercussions should not end your career. You should contact a reputable attorney if you face any misconduct allegation related to your duties. A reasonable attorney could defend your professional license and practice in every manner possible and negotiate for a reduced penalty or dismissal of the complaints.

The Optometry Board’s Mission

The Optometry Board was established to protect patients and consumers from sub-standard or unsafe care. The primary duties of the Optometry Board include:

  • Restrict the issuing of licenses
  • Revoke or suspend existing optometry licenses, and
  • Enforce other relevant disciplinary actions to address and prevent any departures from the laws applicable to the optometry field.

The board typically serves the public's interests but not the optometrists’. However, it does not imply that the board is against the optometrists. The board receives many complaints from patients and consumers. Majority of the accusations, however, are not substantial. These accusations are sometimes investigated briefly or never investigated.

It is crucial to note that some complaints are genuine. Substantial complaints could pose a risk to your license. You should, therefore, take it seriously if you receive an investigation notice or a call from board investigators. It is advisable not to talk to investigators alone without consulting your attorney first. If you go alone, you risk incriminating yourself or curtailing the defense options for your case. Your attorney will always be on your side and understands how to negotiate with the Optometry Board and its investigators.

The Disciplinary Guidelines Adopted By The Optometry Board

The public can access the optometry board’s standards online. Board standards are the reference point when handling optometrists  accused of different violations like drug or alcohol abuse. The public can also access the recommended disciplinary actions for various violations. The standards for substance abuse are fixed, depending on the minimum discipline required. You could face additional measures if the judge presiding over the hearing considers them necessary.

However, most crimes have a broad spectrum of possible punishments. The maximum penalty is the license revocation, while the minimum sentence varies. A common minimum punishment is a stayed license revocation with three to five years of professional license probation. The other typical disciplinary actions you could face could include:

  • A shorter suspension period that does not exceed 30 days
  • Monitoring at the work-site during probation
  • Continuing education related to your crime, and
  • Other conditions included in your sentence

Violations That Can Attract Board

The common formal complaints that could attract disciplinary actions include:

  • Violating the terms of your license probation
  • Being under license discipline by another U.S state or California government agency
  • Failure to honor the request of the patient for their medical record
  • Failing to keep adequate patient records or keeping fraudulent records
  • Practicing beyond the limits of your license
  • Prescribing medication without conducting a proper exam first
  • Having a criminal conviction associated with your practice
  • Conducting your practice in an illegal area
  • Unprofessional conduct
  • Deceptive or false advertising practices
  • Hiring an unlicensed assistant to work under you
  • Conducting optometry without a valid license
  • Securing an optometry license by fraud
  • Misuse of topical pharmaceutical agents
  • Addiction or substance abuse, especially while on the job
  • Failing to comply with infection control and other health and safety standards
  • Incompetent or negligent care
  • Physical or mental unfitness
  • Sexual misconduct
  • Excessive prescribing

Your license could be revoked if the judge at the hearing or the board determines you are incapable of a safe medical practice. However, you could secure a stayed license revocation coupled with probation with the help of your attorney.

All the disciplinary actions the board takes against you will be posted online for public viewing. The disciplinary actions could be a letter of reprimand, license application denial, probation, suspension, citation, and monetary fine. The publication of the board’s disciplinary action could make it challenging to secure a job or future clients. You should, therefore, fight even small disciplinary actions at all costs.

If you receive formal discipline, the board can recover the expenses of investigations and probationary monitoring. The board recovers these expenses because its policy is to minimize the licenses costs and cost of other services. However, there are several ways of negotiating a payment plan if you cannot pay because of financial hardship. Securing a workable payment schedule is essential because failing to honor a payment as you serve probation would be a violation.

In most cases, a settlement can be reached, eliminating the administrative hearing. However, you could sometimes get a settlement during the administrative hearing. The board and the administrative law judge will have to approve the agreed-upon settlement in either case to be valid.

Your attorney can minimize the potential sentence. Your attorney can only fight for you when you furnish them with all the relevant information regarding your case. Therefore, when preparing a defense, you should not withhold any information from your attorney.

The board can impose a citation with a fine rather than a normal disciplinary action for minor violations. You are also likely to receive an ‘’Order for Abatement’’ along with the citation, which instructs you to stop the action for which the board imposed a fine. It might appear that fighting a citation is not essential, mainly if the fine is small. It is, however, good to fight the citation and keep it from appearing on the public record. A citation on the public record can make you seem unreliable, making patients shy away from your services. Therefore, you should contact an experienced attorney to help you fight the citation.

Mitigating And Aggravating Evidence

The board’s administrative hearings involve more than guilty or innocent determinations, just like in criminal court cases. Your attorney can present exculpatory evidence to win you a dismissal. Your attorney could win you a dismissal through the following:

  • Cross-examining witnesses presenting evidence against you
  • Undermining the prosecutor’s evidence and arguments
  • Calling in expert witnesses

In situations where you are likely to face disciplinary action, your attorney’s mitigating evidence could be key against the prosecutor’s aggravating evidence. Mitigating factors could include:

  • A significant time has passed since the violation, and you have not committed a subsequent offense
  • You do not have a significant prior record of violations
  • Your cooperation with the board investigators
  • The unlikelihood of repeating the crime again
  • Admission and are remorseful for wrongdoing
  • An undeliberate mistake

The aggravating factors could include:

  • Committing an offense in the presence of a child
  • Having prior crimes on your professional record
  • Violation of trust with the employer or patient
  • The patient’s well-being is at risk due to your actions

The type of discipline the board imposes will be hinged on the above mitigating or aggravating factors and how your attorney presents the factors to the judge. The type of probationary conditions you are bound by could also be hinged on the above mitigating or aggravating factors.

The Cases Of Substance Abuse

The California Optometry Board does not take lightly the adverse effects of substance abuse on optometrists. When an optometrist is an addict, their performance level is affected. This could also reduce the patient's safety levels. The board insists on ‘’uniform standards’’ in substance abuse cases. If you are addicted to alcohol or drugs, a diagnostic evaluation could be ordered. You will be required to stop the practice while conducting this examination. You will also undergo several impromptu drug tests every week as you wait.

You will be granted a stayed license revocation and probation instead of a license revocation once the probation officer determines that:

  • You should participate in group support gatherings
  • You require monitoring during probation
  • Need treatment, or
  • Should honor all applicable conditions

If you prevail in the clinical diagnostic evaluation, you can fight all the accusations against you to enable you to continue to practice without restrictions. However, you can continue practicing even after failing the assessment if you comply with the probationary terms. Your attorney can bargain for less stringent probation conditions or negotiate a shorter probationary period, particularly the minimum.

Some conditions are mandatory, but the seriousness of the addiction or other facts of your offense can determine other applicable conditions. A reputable attorney will present all viable facts of your case to have the probation shortened. Your attorney will also handle all the paperwork to have your professional license reinstated when your probation ends.

What An Attorney Can DO To Preserve Your Optometry License

Hiring an experienced attorney reduces the chances of an accusation damaging your career. An attorney will implement the appropriate strategies, such as dismissing your charges or negotiating a reduced sentence. A reliable attorney will:

  • Help you understand the nature of the allegations against you and how they can affect your career
  • Gather the necessary evidence to discredit the accusations against you
  • Offer reliable legal representation in all your interactions with the licensing board
  • Negotiate on your behalf during the disciplinary process to obtain the most favorable outcome for your case.
  • If the board suspends your license, an attorney will guide you on reinstating the license.

Your professional license is the key to building a livelihood as an optometrist. However, a single complaint against you could jeopardize this livelihood. As an optometrist, you can face allegations against your services, professional care, or character. No matter the type of allegations against you, the best course of action is to have an experienced attorney by your side.

Find A Committed License Defense Attorney Near Me

Any optometrist facing accusations of disciplinary action from the board should contact an experienced attorney for legal guidance and representation. Do not try to negotiate with the board alone because you might end up incriminating yourself. When the board investigator contacts you, you should request to meet with your attorney first. The board does not have your interests at heart but puts public safety first. The good news is that an attorney works for you, is on your side, and will negotiate the best outcome for your case. Contact the San Diego License Attorney if your optometry license is at risk and you require legal representation. Contact us at 858-665-2455 to speak to one of our attorneys.