What Happens to Your Professional License After Arrest or Indictment?

• Healthcare Fraud, Professional License Attorneys

Health professionals, lawyers, accountants, brokers, and other licensed professionals often wonder what will happen to their professional licenses if they are arrested or indicted for a federal crime.

What happens to your license will largely depend on the circumstances involved, including:

• Whether you operate under a professional license, and
• Whether you were merely arrested or were indicted.

Healthcare attorneys can provide individuals with assistance in understanding the potential outcome in their specific case; however, here are some general observations.

Cooperation and Voluntary Disclosure Policies

Your professional license will expressly provide whether you are required to disclose your indictment, whether a discipline or suspension is appropriate, and the process for requesting a stay of discipline or suspension pending the outcome of your case. A healthcare attorney can offer you more personalized and tailored guidance here.

Some professionals are under the care of other third parties, which could also impact the individuals’ professional obligations following an arrest or indictment. For instance, if you are a medical professional or healthcare provider and are under the care of a medical group, hospital, or other entity, you may have additional obligations to disclosure to these third parties. While in many instances disclosure to third-party entities are not required, you should still consult with a healthcare attorney regarding what you are required to disclose.

Some professionals subject to arrest or indictment can benefit from their voluntary disclosure, including:

Recently, these healthcare providers have been taking advantage of self-disclosures for potential violations in an attempt to avoid possible exclusion actions, and other penalties.

Federal providers can also request assistance within the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General’s Provider Self-Disclosure Protocol if the situation applies.

A prosecutor’s office may also have an attorney or coordinator that is assigned to these types of cases, which you should seek out. A health care attorney is your best source of advice regarding what to say and how to prepare for these types of situations.

cases per year handled by average public defender in NJ

of criminal appeals in NJ result in reversal or new trial

Statistics updated regularly based on latest available data

Anything you say to explain yourself can and will be used against you. 'I was just defending myself' is a confession to the physical act. Stay silent.

Saying 'I want to remain silent' isn't enough – you must actually stop talking. Officers can keep asking questions, and anything you say after can still be used.

Federal Agencies May Adopt Clarifications for Certain Professionals

Recently, some federal agencies, including for example the Board of Professional Engineers, have been clarifying their procedures for handling situations where professionals have been arrested, indicted, or convicted.

These clarifications have been expanded to the summary suspension processes for certain professionals by including the implementing of an interim order provision that facilitates the placement of a licensure on a temporary basis for a health care provider when the individual is arrested for certain offenses involving harm to others. A specific example is when a criminal allegation or pending indictment relates to sexual misconduct associated with medical practice.

This interim order provision allows the prosecutor’s office to say his or her piece at the beginning of the hearing so that the hearing does not only involve the licensee and the licensee’s attorney. The prosecutor’s piece includes statements about why the individual is not fit to practice in his or her profession as well as why there is a compelling need to protect individuals from future harm if the licensee is allowed to continue working in that profession.

You may also request the “interim order committee” to stay your interim order while the components are handling the criminal allegation or indictment. The interim order committee will look at the facts of your situation. The grounds for such a stay are found in the professional licensure designations for specific professionals.

These recent clarifications by federal agencies have helped to eliminate the uncertainty and/or confusion by replacing such with more transparency, due process, and openness.

Contact International Healthcare Attorneys Today

You are not without legal defenses and options. Do not sit back and fail to fight for what you believe is right for you, your future, and everything that you have worked so far to achieve. Licensed professionals who have been arrested or indicted—or whose career has otherwise been threatened—do not have to proceed further alone. Hiring an experienced healthcare attorney can make all the difference between successfully defending yourself and losing forfeiting your reputation, livelihood, and career. Healthcare attorneys also have experience dealing with federal agencies. Hiring a knowledgeable and expert healthcare lawyer is important is helping you through this difficult time. Do not wait. Instead, make an informed decision about your professional license.

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