Barber vs Surgeon – Which License is Harder to Suspend?
It may come as a surprise to learn that in many states, a licensed barber may have more protections against suddenly losing the right to practice their profession than does a licensed physician or other health care professional. At the very least, you might think that the policies and procedures for all professional licenses would be roughly similar – but you would be wrong. In some states, a physician or nurse can be suspended based on a misconduct complaint even before a hearing has taken place, while a barber can’t be suspended until after they’ve had their hearing.
If you are a licensed health care professional, it is important to understand what kinds of misconduct allegations can lead to an immediate suspension of your license. It is also important to mount an effective defense if you are accused of misconduct. The best way to make sure you do is to be working with one of the experienced attorneys from the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team. Call us today at 888.535.3686, or submit our online contact form so that we can schedule a confidential consultation to go over your case and explain how we can help.
Barbers’ License Rights Versus Physicians’ License Rights
In most states, a physician, nurse, or other licensed health care professional can have their license suspended immediately, without a hearing, on an “emergency” basis under certain circumstances. This happens before there is any final determination on the allegations made against the professional, and in many cases even before the doctor, nurse, or other professional has responded to the allegations. This will typically happen in cases where the allegations against the health care professional are serious and suggest that the public may be in immediate danger if the professional is allowed to continue to practice.
Depending on the state, a licensed barber may not be subject to the same potential for an immediate suspension of their license without a hearing. Instead, the barber’s license will typically remain active throughout the misconduct investigation and until the matter is resolved, either by being dismissed, settled, or after a full hearing on the merits. Some states provide even stronger protections for the barber – in Oklahoma, for example, a barber’s license won’t be suspended or revoked unless the barber has been cited three times for prior violations and there has been a full board hearing.
From the perspective of public health and safety, this makes sense – a medical professional is much more likely to be in a position to harm a patient than a barber is (Sweeney Todd being a notable, if fictional, exception). But from the perspective of a health professional whose license is suddenly suspended, it can be devastating.
And even though most states will require that the immediate suspension be followed up by a hearing so that the medical professional has the chance to be heard, it can take weeks or even months before that hearing happens – and during all of this time, the physician remains unable to practice due to the suspension.
The LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team Can Protect Your License
If you are a physician, nurse, or other healthcare professional accused of misconduct, you need to take the allegations seriously and mount a strong and effective defense. If your license has been summarily suspended on an “emergency” basis, you need to take quick action to move your case forward so that you can return to practice. The LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team can help you in these kinds of difficult situations. Our experienced attorneys work with medical professionals all over the country who have been accused of all types of misconduct. We know the laws, regulations, rules, and procedures that apply in these cases, and we are ready to quickly come up to speed on your case so that we can help you defend against the allegations you’re facing.
Call the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team today at 888.535.3686 or fill out our online contact form, and we will schedule a confidential consultation to review the allegations made against you and explain what we can do to help.