The Board of Audiology, Speech-Language Pathology, and Hearing Aid Dispensers receives countless yearly complaints. These include reports from the courts, mandated self-reports, public complaints, and reports from the other licensing boards. You should contact a license attorney as soon as possible if you face an investigation by the board or disciplinary action. The San Jose License Attorney has the resources and experience to offer expert representation to help you avoid the punishment. Contact us today if you are under board investigation.

Valuable Services Provided By Speech-Language Pathologists

Also known as speech therapists, speech-language pathologists provide essential services to people whose speaking ability is affected by various disorders. Speaking and hearing ability should be taken seriously because most people struggle to communicate fundamentally. A speech-language pathologist comes in handy in helping these people.

A speech-language pathologist works with patients, helping them with fluency, rhythm, pronunciation, and other disorders. You could also be required to help a person adjust to a regional or foreign accent. You have to undergo extensive education and hands-on training to gain your license. Before you qualify to handle your first patient, you must invest your time, effort, and income to obtain a license. Unfortunately, a complaint that is not even valid could easily place your career on the line. When this happens, you should seek the services of an experienced attorney to defend your license.

The Duties Of An Audiologist

An audiologist must diagnose and treat various hearing problems. You can be of great help when a patient notices a change in their hearing or fears that he/she could lose the ability to hear. An audiologist can also treat balance problems. Given how a person's body is designed, hearing is closely associated with balance.

The Crucial Services A Hearing Aid Dispenser Provides

A hearing aid can come in handy in old age or if a chronic condition causes a person's hearing to become impaired. An expert can treat the ears to continue functioning so that patients enjoy their lives as before. A hearing aid dispenser can diagnose the level of hearing loss. You can also be responsible for recommending the best possible hearing aids to restore a patient's hearing. You should familiarize yourself with the plethora of hearing options and discuss with your patient the features of each of the recommended hearing aids.

The Board's Duty

The Board of Speech-Language Pathologists, Audiologists, and Hearing Aid Dispenser Professionals was not established for practitioners. It was established to investigate the welfare of patients and the public. The board protects patients and the public against substandard and unsafe practices. It is neither against practitioners nor favors them when receiving complaints in writing or through its consumer affairs website. It has upheld several disciplinary rules that are available online.

The board recommends the disciplinary rules to be used by the administrative law judges. The rules serve as general standards for instilling discipline. However, your attorney and prosecutor can introduce mitigating and aggravating factors, reducing or increasing your punishment.  Administrative law judges preside over the hearings about claims or allegations against practitioners.

Possible Violations

You could face the board's disciplinary action because of the following violations:

  • Unprofessional conduct
  • Violation of the required professional experience regulations
  • Having a previous history of a criminal conviction in areas that are significantly connected to the qualifications and roles of your work
  • Committing insurance fraud
  • Facing punishment from another state's licensing board
  • Being bribed to recommend certain types of hearing aids
  • Showing incompetence, ordinary or gross negligence, or failing to provide treatment
  • Paying or getting paid for referrals
  • False or misleading advertising practices
  • Permitting assistants to work under your supervision without a license
  • Substance abuse, especially if it is committed while attending to a patient or during working hours

Negligence And Professional License Cases

Most complaints filed against Speech-Language Pathologists, audiologists, and Hearing Aid Dispensers revolve around negligence. In this case, the patient or person filing the allegations feels that the professional owed them a duty of care but breached it. Filing the accusations aims to inform the board that the practitioner failed to adhere to the standards. This also notifies the board that the professional did not provide the expected quality of care. The complainant can seek compensation and persuade the board to stop the health worker from practicing.

The board will evaluate the complaint once it is filed and take action against you if it is justified. It will also assess the said misconduct or injury to ascertain the validity of the complaint. You will be held responsible if the mistake did not happen if you had been reasonable and diligent.

Evidence is paramount because it is the primary driver of success in professional license defense lawsuits. People who file accusations against health workers keep records of all events as they happen, including the care provided, injuries sustained, and persisting symptoms. Your attorney will review this information to prove the claims are wrong or misunderstood. The complainant must prove the following facts for them to build a strong case against you:

  • The nature and extent of the injury suffered because of the breach of care
  • How you breached the standard of care
  • The standard of care you owed to the complainant
  • The existence of the health worker-patient relationship

The penalties you could face include:

Stay Of Revocation Plus Probation

It is not the best outcome for your license to be put on probation. However, probation prevents revocation of the license and allows you to continue practicing your career. When facing this penalty, specific conditions will apply. Your license could be revoked, and other disciplinary measures can be taken if you violate the probationary conditions.

Revocation or Suspension

If your license is revoked or suspended, you will be denied the right to continue practicing your career. A revocation takes an unspecified time, while a suspension has a definite period, for example, months or years.

Public Reprimand

If the board imposes a public reprimand on you, it is the same as facing a citation without a fine. The board can share the reprimand publicly on the consumer affairs website, and anyone can access it online.

Citation and Fine

The least the board can impose is a citation and fine. Sometimes, however, the board can impose hefty fines. Conversely, a citation is shared publicly and can negatively affect your ability to gain new patients. It is also advisable that you fight this form of punishment.

The Procedure Of Launching A Claim To The Final Ruling

Anyone can file a complaint with the board of speech-language pathologists, audiologists, and hearing aid dispenser professionals. If the board does not dismiss the accusation as unsubstantiated, an actual investigation will commence. It will also prioritize allegations to begin investigating more serious offenses first.

The board can perform a sting operation to gather more evidence if the allegations appear credible. Alternatively, it can investigate for a certain period and conclude that no substantial evidence exists to continue with the case.

The board will serve you with a Notice of Investigation if an investigation is commenced against you. You should consult an experienced attorney immediately after you receive the notice. Avoid talking with the board or investigator until you first speak with your attorney. An attorney can follow up on the investigation notice with a defense notice before the applicable timeframe elapses.

Your attorney can also challenge the temporary suspension that the board has imposed on you. You cannot stay without working during the investigation period because investigations can take several months or years to be concluded. The board will issue you a formal accusation with a statement of issues if they are convinced that an actual case exists. Your legal team can evaluate this document and utilize the chance to challenge every allegation against you. A settlement or dismissal can happen at this stage. The need for an administrative hearing will be eliminated if this happens.

Your license attorney will take the necessary action if it is mandatory for a hearing to take place. At this point, your attorney can do the following:

  • Cross-examine the witnesses against you
  • Present exculpatory and mitigating evidence, which will help win a reduction in punishment or an acquittal altogether.
  • Counter the prosecutor's evidence
  • Present witnesses to testify in your favor

Your case will have ended if the allegations against you are dismissed during the administrative hearing. If this happens, there will be no public record of the trial for your clients to see. You will have 30 days to bring an appeal if you are subjected to formal discipline. You will have only 15 days if your punishment involves a citation and you want to appeal it.

Criminal Convictions That Could Affect Your License

The board has the authority to impose punishment based on any prior criminal conviction you have on your record. They will take action against you if your prior convictions were of crimes that are deemed to be significantly related to your qualifications or duties. Some of the crimes that are considered to be substantially associated with your responsibilities and qualifications include:

  • Sexual battery
  • Domestic violence
  • Insurance fraud
  • DUI or DUID
  • Possession of controlled substances
  • Petty or grand theft
  • Alcohol or drug addiction or abuse

The board can give an order asking the court to impose different restrictions on your license when the police press any criminal charge against you. The restrictions could be in the following forms:

  • The board can order that your license be suspended via court order until the proceedings of your case end.
  • The board can request a license restriction as a requirement for being set free on bail. This can happen if the board feels you will use the license to perform unsafe practices after being released from custody.
  • The board can request license restriction as part of any sentencing if your proceedings conclude with a conviction.

Your attorney can challenge any order the board issues to the court or judge. An attorney will present arguments that favor you at any special court hearings and determine the response he/she will give to the board's requests. Your attorney will strive to ensure you retain your license regardless of any plea bargain.

Chemical Dependency Issues and Board Diversion Program

The board can offer a diversion program for you in some situations based on eligibility criteria. Usually, the board does this to practitioners whose ability to perform their roles could be impaired due to alcohol or drug abuse. The diversion program offers the affected professionals the chance to recover from their addiction without losing their licenses. This program provides access to proper treatment services as well as intervention programs. The diversion program aims to protect the public and rehabilitate the practitioner.

The board's diversion program is a long process. You cannot enter this program without careful thought and consulting an experienced attorney. There are many benefits you will receive when you complete the program. However, failure to strictly follow the rules could attract serious consequences, including facing disciplinary action.

Enrolling in a diversion program is a better punishment than suspending or revoking your license. After all, an addiction is like an ailment. Medical practitioners struggling with addictions should not be punished but rehabilitated. If you are facing a board investigation or disciplinary action and you are struggling with an addiction, contact an attorney. Your attorney can help you prove to the judge that you need rehabilitation rather than punishment.

Find An Experienced License Attorney Near Me

Your hearing aid dispenser, speech-language pathologist, or audiology license can be at risk even for minor violations. Perhaps a patient unhappy with your services complained to the board about you. Maybe you acted negligently, and a patient suffered harm as a result. You could also have committed a criminal offense, and the board learned about it. No matter the case, our caring attorneys at the San Jose License Attorney can help. We will analyze your case to identify the mitigating and aggravating factors. We will then decide the best way to defend against your charges. Contact us at 408-850-3740 to talk to one of our attorneys.