Despite the state being known for its laissez-faire attitude, Louisianans are not immune to the threat of arrest. If you are a nurse who made a mistake or who was arrested unjustly, defending your license should be just as high a priority as defending yourself from any criminal charges you face.
In fact, the Louisiana State Board of Nursing’s (LSBN) standard for imposing discipline may be significantly lower than the criminal courts’ standard for imposing legal penalties. If you value your nursing career—and we’re sure you do—then hiring an experienced attorney from the LLF National Law Firm Professional License Defense Team should be easy.
Let’s get one fact out of the way: License defense and criminal defense have little in common. If you think you need a strong criminal defense, we encourage you to hire a criminal defense lawyer for that. We know that every nurse arrested in Louisiana needs to protect their license proactively, and we urge you to hire a license defense attorney from our firm to lead that effort.
Call the LLF National Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 or contact us online to find out how we will prepare you for any disciplinary proceedings you may face. Even a seemingly minor arrest that might only lead to a misdemeanor charge could lead to severe professional sanctions. Take the LSBN’s influence seriously and hire us to represent you with this regulatory body, which holds your career in its collective hands.
Do I Have to Report an Arrest to the Louisiana State Board of Nursing (LSBN)? Maybe. Maybe Not.
Like most Nurse Practice Acts governing nurses’ behavior throughout the United States, Louisiana’s Nurse Practice Act is not particularly specific about whether nurses need to report arrests. The document becomes more specific about how nurses who have been convicted may be disqualified from licensure or subject to discipline, but reporting an arrest remains, by and large, a gray area.
So, this leaves you with two general options:
- Report your arrest voluntarily
- Do not report your arrest, as you are not explicitly required to
Each of these options comes with some risk. If you report your arrest voluntarily but are not mandated to do so, you might expose yourself to professional sanctions you might not have otherwise faced. If you do not report your arrest, and the Board somehow discovers that you were arrested, the Board might hold your decision not to report against you.
What’s the Risk in Reporting My Arrest Before I Speak with the LLF National Law Firm Team?
Since there are risks in reporting and not reporting an arrest, the value of having an experienced attorney on your side becomes all the more critical in deciding how to act next. Our judgment may be beneficial due to the lack of clarity in Louisiana’s nursing-specific statutes.
We will help you conduct a comprehensive risk assessment, as we have seen how nurses who simply report an arrest to the LSBN without weighing the pros and cons may:
- Overestimate the risk of bringing the arrest to the Board’s attention
- Underestimate the leeway they have thanks to statutes that don’t require them to report the arrest
- Falsely assume that the Board will see the details of the arrest the same way they do—you might view the circumstances of the arrest as “no big deal,” while the Board might view those same circumstances as worthy of sanctioning you
Ultimately, nurses who report their arrest without consulting a lawyer could face sanctions specifically because they brought their arrest to the Board’s attention.
Let us protect you. One of our first steps will be determining if reporting your arrest to the LSBN is mandatory, necessary, or wise.
If I Am Convicted, Will I Have to Report That?
There are several reasons why nurses should generally report a criminal conviction, especially for felony-level offenses, to their respective Nursing Board:
- Nursing boards generally view serious convictions as grounds for discipline: It’s a fair bet that if you are convicted of a felony-level offense, you will face some sort of discipline. While we can certainly fight to minimize the discipline against you, felony convictions often have formal professional consequences.
- The Board will likely expect you to report a conviction: The Board likely expects you to know that a felony conviction (and even some misdemeanor convictions) are likely grounds for discipline. Therefore, the Board may expect you to be forthcoming about most convictions.
- There is a high likelihood the Board will find out about a criminal conviction: Many Nursing Boards have a direct line to certain law enforcement agencies and courts. The Louisiana State Nursing Board also has access to the internet, which means it can monitor conviction records throughout the state. These realities make it highly likely that the LSBN will find out about any serious conviction you face, and potentially also misdemeanor convictions.
- If the Board discovers a conviction you did not report, you may face further sanctions due to the failure to report. While the Louisiana Nurse Practice Act is not always precise in its expectations, it generally requires nurses to be reasonably forthcoming. If you do not report a conviction that the Board expected you to report, it could impose sanctions in response.
Louisiana Administrative Code §3331 notes that prospective nurses are generally denied licensure if they are convicted of, plead guilty to, or plead no-contest to a wide range of crimes. These crimes include murder, sexual battery, armed robbery, stalking, and tens more. This fact alone suggests that some level of self-reporting is expected.
We cannot emphasize enough: Louisiana’s statutes for reporting arrests and convictions contain plenty of ambiguity. Understanding whether you need to report an arrest or conviction—or whether you should—is not always a science. Let the LLF National Law Firm Team lend our perspective and guidance specific to your unique circumstance.
You Must Be Prepared for the LSBN to Discover An Arrest, Charge, or Conviction
Whether through self-reporting, another person’s complaint, the Board’s own detection mechanisms, or other channels, it’s always possible that the LSBN will find out about an arrest or conviction. If and when it does, there’s also a possibility that you will undergo disciplinary proceedings.
The LSBN follows disciplinary procedures established by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), which entail:
The Complaint
Complaints against nurses can arise from allegations of:
- Unprofessional conduct
- A criminal conviction
- Dangerous substance use
- Insubordination
Depending on the alleged behavior for which a nurse is arrested, an arrest might be grounds for a complaint. Employers, co-workers, nurses (in cases of self-reporting), and the general public can file a complaint.
The Investigation
The Nursing Board must determine if the allegation against the nurse would constitute a violation of nursing laws (if the allegation is true). To reach this determination, the Board generally:
- Appoints an investigator
- Grants the investigator the freedom to speak with the complainant, respondent, and witnesses
- Expects the investigator to evaluate any documents and other evidence relevant to the complaint
The investigator typically issues a report that includes their recommendation on whether the nurse should be found responsible and face sanctions.
A Resolution
Nurses facing the professional disciplinary process might achieve a resolution by:
- Agreeing to a Consent Agreement, which is a mutual deal where the nurse typically accepts fault and sanctions, and the Nursing Board agrees to specific, defined sanctions
- Fighting potential discipline, which may lead to a finding of non-responsibility after a hearing
- Completing an appeal, which may be necessary if a hearing leads to an unfavorable imposition of sanctions
Of course, there is also the possibility that a nurse will receive sanctions after losing a hearing and an appeal. We work hard to help nurses avoid this outcome.
The NCSBN explains that the nurse’s due process must be paramount throughout the disciplinary procedure. However, it would be naive to expect the Louisiana State Nursing Board to prioritize your rights more highly than your own attorney will—demanding your due process is another way the LLF National Law Firm will help.
Potential Outcomes from the LSBN’s Disciplinary Proceedings
When you’re arrested, the fact is that the arrest can lead to the disciplinary process. The disciplinary process can lead to:
- A warning from the LSBN
- A formal reprimand
- Professional probation
- Mandatory education or training
- A fine
- Restriction of your ability to practice
- Suspension of your license
- Revocation of your license
Of course, these outcomes vary in severity. We often fight for nurses to receive a lesser sanction, probation instead of the suspension of their license, for example. However, we also honor nurses’ wishes when they want to avoid sanctions altogether.
Even if you receive a warning from the LSBN, that warning could expose you to a higher likelihood of formal sanctions if you’re accused of future wrongdoing. Your attorney from the LLF National Law Firm will have an honest discussion with you, and we will identify the target outcome to build our defense strategy around.
Sanctions from the LSBN Could Follow You Indefinitely
We cannot discuss the cost of professional sanctions without bringing up the Nursys database. This is a nationwide database containing extensive information about registered nurses, and you need to know that:
- The Louisiana State Board of Nursing participates in the Nursys database
- If you receive public discipline from the LSBN, the details of that discipline will almost certainly become part of the Nursys database
- The Nursys database is a one-stop repository for anyone seeking information about a nurse, meaning any prospective employers, licensing boards considering your application, and other influential parties can easily access details of sanctions against you
The trope of a professional moving across the nation, leaving the burden of their professional reputation in their dust, is no longer realistic. The Nursys database all but guarantees that sanctions will have a lasting effect on your career, no matter where in the United States you are.
The LLF National Law Firm Team Fights for the Best Possible Outcome for Nurses We Represent—Each One Wants and Needs Something Different
Now, let’s talk about how the LLF National Law Firm Professional License Defense Team can be of value to you. Our role is specific to each client, and we eagerly assist:
- Nurses who have been arrested but are confident that the arrest will not lead to serious charges or, at least, not a conviction
- Nurses who have been arrested and have reason to believe they will be charged and potentially convicted
- Nurses who have already been charged
- Nurses who have been convicted
Whether an offense qualifies as a misdemeanor or felony, we want to hear from you. Your attorney will craft a one-of-a-kind strategy built for you and you alone.
Many Nurses Arrested in Louisiana Deserve Rehabilitative Resolutions
We generally think of the outcome of nurse discipline in two terms:
- Nurses who are sanctioned
- Nurses who are not
There is a third category, though. Some nurses struggle with substance abuse and other personal problems, and those struggles can contribute to arrests and other circumstances that might lead to professional discipline.
If the Recovering Nurse Program (RNP) or another alternative resolution makes sense for you, we will consider that option—such resolutions are often far more merciful than license revocations and more punitive sanctions.
You’re Used to Serving Others. It’s Our Turn to Serve You. Call the LLF National Law Firm Today. The LLF National Law Firm fights for nurses, including those facing the dual prospect of legal penalties and professional sanctions. We urge you to view your license defense as just as pressing as your legal defense and enlist us to provide critical support.
From preparing you for any upcoming interviews to developing a contingency plan if the LSBN pursues sanctions against you, it will be our job to tilt the disciplinary scales in your favor. Call the LLF National Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 or contact us online to get to know our team and learn how beneficial our help can be.