The license defense process for nurses in the Savannah area is anything but a leisurely jaunt down Victory Drive. Once you're under scrutiny, the Georgia Board of Nursing (BON) may hurtle forward at unsettling speed, making it critical to retain an attorney from the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team immediately.
While locals are used to humidity, the heat that comes with disciplinary proceedings from the Georgia Board of Nursing (BON) is something else. The Board may quickly lose sight of your good character, years of dedication, and other positive attributes if it decides you've done something wrong. Even if you're not facing revocation of your license, you are likely facing the assassination of your reputation—and the many tangible and intangible damages that occur when your reputation takes a hit.
Defending nurses is what we do at the Lento Law Firm. We know how the Georgia BON handles complaints, what you should and shouldn't do to enhance your odds of a successful defense, and the many potential paths we may follow to the outcome you deserve.
Time is your greatest resource when protecting your license and livelihood—actually, it's your second greatest resource behind only our Professional License Defense Team. Call the Lento Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 or contact us online to find out how we can start defending you immediately.
Why Do Nurses in the Savannah, GA, Area Face License Sanctions?
Sections 43-26-51 and 43-26-53 of the Georgia Nurse Practice Act detail several “grounds for discipline.” Being accused of any of these offenses could place your reputation, license, and livelihood in jeopardy. If the disciplinary process leads to sanctions, you might also suffer severe mental health challenges and the other secondary ramifications of professional damage.
A mere allegation can unleash a disciplinary process that moves ahead unceasingly, and that allegation may be that you:
- Obtained or renewed your license under false pretenses (such as having forged or lied about your education or accreditation)
- Engaged in sexual misconduct
- Lacked empathy, compassion, or respect for a patient
- Endangered a patient
- Were insubordinate
- Engaged in criminal activity
- Misused alcohol
- Misused a drug (whether the drug is illicit or prescribed)
- Are physically, cognitively, or emotionally unfit to practice nursing
- Fail to live up to any other criteria required of nurses in Georgia
Unlike curated areas of Tourist Savannah, nothing about the healthcare system is picture-perfect. Nurses do their best to operate ethically and cautiously amongst the endless swathes of gray area in real-world medical facilities, from Memorial Health University Medical Center to Winn Army Community Hospital. Yet, the Board of Nursing may handle complaints against you as if issues in healthcare were far more cut-and-dry than we know them to be.
A compelling defense is critical. Assume that those who hold your professional future in their palms can err, and we will do our best to overcome the most stacked deck you could face.
The Georgia Board of Nursing Has Sweeping Powers. Make Sure Your License Doesn't Get Swept Up in Overzealous Discipline.
Georgia law grants the BON comprehensive authority to sanction nurses (see: Enforcement), which can include:
- Not renewing a license
- Issuing a public or private reprimand
- Suspending a license temporarily or indefinitely
- Restricting your license (which can mean restricting the nurse's earning power)
- Revoking a license
- Ordering the nurse to complete mandatory measures if they wish to continue in their career
- Fining the nurse
Remember that the BON's disciplinary process does not run on Savannah Time. Despite holding nurses' careers in their hands, the Board may operate as if expediency is more important than the accuracy of its ruling. Prepare for a whirlwind of a disciplinary process by retaining the Lento Law Firm as soon as possible.
Sanctions Against a Nursing License Are the Formal Discipline. The Informal Consequences Can Be Even More Devastating.
When nurses come to our Professional License Defense Team for help, their most immediate concern is typically the discipline they may face from the Board that doles out discipline. While this is a valid concern, we must inform them of the full weight that sanctions can place on a nurse.
We discussed the formal discipline the Georgia BON can impose, but we must also point out that even the most minor formal sanction can cause or contribute to:
- Psychological and emotional symptoms (potentially ruinous ones): For most, our identities and careers are intertwined. Suddenly being deprived of your ability to do your work, especially in a career as fulfilling as nursing, can have devastating psychological and emotional effects.
- A permanent detour in your career progress: Reputations matter, especially in the healthcare field. If you face any formal sanction, it will affect how current and prospective employers view you. Even highly accomplished nurses with excellent interview skills may be unable to overcome the harm done by a serious sanction.
- Strain on interpersonal relationships: The ripple effect of license sanctions all too often reaches into a nurse's personal life. Whether loved ones cast judgment or the emotional effects of the sanctions change how you relate to others, this is a tragic outcome you must recognize as a real possibility.
- Financial hardship: The average family in Georgia, and America more broadly, cannot afford to miss a paycheck, let alone lose their license. Any form of discipline could have significant financial ramifications, which is reason enough to put ample resources into your defense. Such financial hardship is also likely to exacerbate the psychological and emotional toll of nurse license sanctions.
Whether you live or work in Savannah, Garden City, Hinesville, Statesboro, Pooler, or anywhere else in Georgia is immaterial. When nurses are sanctioned, their lives get worse, sometimes substantially. There are no regional exceptions to this rule.
We want to spare you from these consequences. Whether or not you committed an infraction, you deserve wholehearted service from a seasoned veteran in nurse license defense. Do not wait to speak with the Lento Law Firm about getting the caliber of representation you deserve.
We Know the Georgia Board of Nursing's Procedure. We Will Ensure You're Prepared for the Unpredictable.
We have helped nurses defend their licenses in Georgia for many years. Our experience has proven that the Georgia Board of Nursing can take vastly different approaches and make unpredictable rulings, particularly when nurses do not defend themselves convincingly.
The best remedy to this unpredictability is to be prepared. Start by hiring the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team. One of our attorneys will steel you for the Georgia BON's disciplinary proceedings, which may include:
The Board Investigates the Complaint Against You
Of course, this investigation should occur in good faith. Rather than assuming the investigation will unfold in your favor, though, retain us to take an offensive tack from the jump.
We want to ensure the investigator(s) receive all relevant information, including any exculpatory evidence that may stop the investigation in its tracks.
You Have the Opportunity to Agree to a Consent Order
The public record is rife with nurses agreeing to Consent Orders in response to allegations of wrongdoing. While agreeing to some form of settlement is sometimes appropriate (especially in cases where a nurse admits to making a mistake), you should never agree to a Consent Order without first speaking with our Professional License Defense Team.
If You Do Not Consent to Sanctions, an Administrative Hearing Occurs
In cases where our clients want to fight for the best possible outcome (particularly when they're subject to false or exaggerated complaints), we:
- Rebuff any attempts to get them to admit wrongdoing
- Insist on a hearing
- Prepare urgently and diligently for the hearing
- Ensure the nurse knows exactly what the hearing entails, what their role will be (and won't be), and how we plan to argue on their behalf.
Each nurse facing potential discipline also faces unique circumstances. Our defense strategy will conform to your unique circumstances, risk tolerance, and target outcome.
Your Attorney from the Lento Law Firm Presents the Most Compelling Defense They Can
If your case leads to a hearing, your attorney from the Lento Law Firm will be prepared to:
- Make powerful oral arguments in your defense
- Present and question witnesses whose testimony generally benefits you
- Aggressively (but not distastefully) cross-examine witnesses whose testimony may be unfavorable
- Present any exhibits, records, or other evidence supporting your case
- Take any other steps that advance your defense
Hearings always have an element of unpredictability. Our diligent work ethic, acute foresight, and years of experience representing nurses at hearings are the best ways to prepare for such unpredictable proceedings.
The Administrative Law Judge Issues Their Ruling
Once the hearing concludes, the administrative law judge presiding over the proceedings will render their decision. That decision could include recommended disciplinary action, though we always expect the judge to rule in our client's favor.
You May Request That the Board of Nursing Review the Ruling
If the judge issues an adverse decision, we have the right to request a review by the Georgia Board of Nursing. We almost always take advantage of this right, unless your unique circumstances warrant another course of action.
The Board Issues a Final Ruling (Though Appeals Mean It's a Not-So-Final Ruling)
The Georgia BON issues a “final ruling” after reviewing the law judge's findings and recommendations. In truth, though, we have the right to appeal further, and we will not hesitate to do so if we do not accept the Board's ruling.
This is the process for nurses from Port Wentworth to Jesup and Richmond Hill to Odum. Whether you work for the St. Joseph's/Candler Health System, East Georgia Regional Medical Center, or any other provider in Georgia, this Board of Nursing procedure applies.
That said, your defense needs to be unique within this standardized process. The Lento Law Firm will accentuate all the reasons why the Board should rule in your favor, and we will present a cogent argument on your behalf.
We Will Be Ready to File an Appeal with the Superior Court of Bibb County, If We Need To
Appeals are a critical aspect of Georgia's professional disciplinary proceedings. Administrative law judges and the Georgia BON get it wrong, and do so far more often than we would like to see. The appeals process is the backstop that, ideally, ensures that wrong disciplinary decisions are made right.
As your attorney, the Lento Law Firm Team:
- Works hard to avoid appeals by securing the right resolution before an appeal becomes necessary
- Also recognizes that some adverse decisions happen despite extremely strong arguments in a nurse's defense
- Is always aware of appeal filing deadlines
- Will not hesitate to file your appeal on clear, valid grounds if your circumstances require us to
When you work with our team, we fight for you through the very last step in the appeals process.
Hiring the Lento Law Firm Means Insisting on Due Process
Your nursing license is not an asset to take for granted. You should also not take for granted that the Georgia Board of Nursing will handle your case in good faith. Due process is your right, but like so many rights, it's one that you may be forced to fight for.
Let our team of experienced legal professionals fight for your right to due process. We will also fight for your license, reputation, and right to continue practicing the career you have put so much work into.
Our approach will remain the same whether our client is relaxing on the Tybee sand, tending to patients, or contributing to their defense in their own way. We will be fighting diligently for the best outcome available to you, and we won't rest until we have resolved your case in its entirety.
Call the Lento Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 or contact us online. We will use every minute you provide us to construct a high-caliber defense, so don't wait to reach out.
