By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law
We often receive calls from health professionals, including registered nurses (RNs), advanced registered nurse practitioners (ARNPs), certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), nurse midwives and nurse practitioners regarding the possibility of representing them on short notice at a Board of Nursing hearing, or at a deposition related to a health care matter.
We Take Last Minute Cases.
Many law firms refuse to represent a client at a hearing unless given plenty of advance notice and preparation time. We, also, always prefer to have sufficient time to obtain documents, review files, interview witnesses, conduct research and prepare, in order to provide our clients the best possible representation. But we realize that in certain cases, the alternative is that the client either gets legal representation on little or no advance notice, or has to suffer the consequences of having no legal representation.
We may do this too, if we believe the case is too complex for us to represent you effectively on such short notice or that any legal representation would be completely futile. However, often this is not the situation.
Administrative Proceedings Can be Very Complex.
In some cases individuals responding to a disciplinary complaint may be fooled into believing that they can effectively represent themselves. They later find out that they have gotten into waters over their heads. Laypersons (meaning, in this case, nonlawyers) who are not aware of such complex matters as the Administrative Procedure Act, the Rules of Civil Procedure, the Rules of Evidence, the Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.) Rules which the Board of Nursing and the Department of Health (DOH) have enacted, may quickly be perplexed and at wit’s end. Often the individual may only figure this out days or weeks before the final hearing.
The inexperienced individual, or even the inexperienced attorney, in these matters can fall into a number of procedural traps that damage an effective defense. This can be advising the individual to talk to the Department of Health (DOH) investigator, filing an unnecessary answer to an Administrative Complaint, forgetting or not knowing that the client’s right to be free of self-incrimination applies in this type of case and many others.
Procedural Mistakes Can Be Damaging To Your Defense.
Often you will find that merely having an experienced attorney to represent you at a hearing or Board meeting will assist you in avoiding mistakes that damage your case and assist you in preserving your rights for an appeal. In other cases it may even be possible to obtain a change in forum to obtain a better result. For example, many laypersons do not know that if you elect an informal hearing before the Board of Nursing, you have waived your right to prove you are innocent by contesting the facts alleged against you.
What few know or think of in the heat of the moment is that you can ask at the informal hearing before the Board of Nursing to contest the facts, to prove you are not guilty of the charges, and to have the hearing converted to a formal hearing. A formal hearing will be in front of a neutral Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), and you have a great many more procedural rights than you have at an informal hearing. However, we still recommend that you have an experienced health lawyer represent you at a formal hearing.
Available for Deposition Coverage.
In a number of cases, we have been requested to provide local deposition coverage in an area near to one of our offices, when an out-of-town lead counsel is unable to make the trip. If the issues involve health care, we are pleased to be able to assist whenever we can.
Often Professional Liability Insurance Will Pay Legal Fees for Deposition Coverage.
If you are a registered nurse, advanced registered nurse practitioner, certified registered nurse anesthetist, licensed practical nurse, nurse midwife or nurse practitioner who has a professional liability insurance policy, especially one with the larger national companies, these often provide legal coverage for depositions. This is primarily because the outcome of the deposition may include having you named as a defendant in a professional liability or negligence lawsuit or having disciplinary charges filed against you.
One of the first things you should do if you receive a subpoena or a notice of a deposition is to contact your professional liability insurance carrier and see if it will pay for an attorney to represent you. For example, Healthcare Providers Service Organization (HPSO), CPH & Associates, Nurses Service Organization (NSO) and many other malpractice insurance companies provide excellent deposition coverage.
The second thing you should do is to call an experienced attorney and schedule a consultation. Even if you cannot afford to retain the services of the attorney for the actual deposition, a consultation may assist you in properly preparing.
Consult With An Experienced Health Law Attorney.
We routinely provide deposition coverage to registered nurses (RNs), advanced registered nurse practitioners (ARNPs), certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), nurse midwives and nurse practitioners and other health professionals being deposed in criminal cases, negligence cases, civil cases or disciplinary cases.
The lawyers of The Health Law Firm are experienced in both formal and informal administrative hearings and in representing registered nurses (RNs), advanced registered nurse practitioners (ARNPs), certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), nurse midwives and nurse practitioners in investigations at Board of Nursing hearings. Call now or visit our website www.TheHealthLawFirm.com.
Comments?
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About the Author: George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law. He is the President and Managing Partner of The Health Law Firm, which has a national practice. Its main office is in the Orlando, Florida, area. www.TheHealthLawFirm.com The Health Law Firm, 1101 Douglas Ave., Altamonte Springs, FL 32714, Phone: (407) 331-6620.
“The Health Law Firm” is a registered fictitious business name of George F. Indest III, P.A. – The Health Law Firm, a Florida professional service corporation, since 1999.
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