Physician and Healthcare Professional Misconduct Defense Lawyers

Practice Areas

Complaints Against Doctors or other Healthcare Professionals

Pattis Medical Misconduct Defense Lawyers defend doctors and other healthcare professionals when aggrieved patients file (or threaten to file) one or more complaints. These complaints against doctors fall into three categories: criminal complaints filed with the police that can result in criminal charges, licensing complaints that can end in professional license suspension or revocation, and civil complaints seeking money damages for medical misconduct that can result in loss of your assets.

Medical Professional Misconduct

Our Physician Misconduct Attorneys represent physicians, nurses, EMTs and medical professionals of every sort when allegations go beyond mistakes or simple negligence. Those are typically handled by a malpractice insurance carrier. Our defense team comes into play when the professional misconduct claimed by a patient involves personal boundary violations, inappropriate touching, sexual relations with a patient, sexual assault, aggravated sexual battery, sexual abuse of a dependent person and similar charges. In essence we defend doctors facing the trifecta of criminal, civil, and professional license complaints.

Physician Discipline

Physicians face license revocation, medical license suspension, some probationary result, or public reprimand any or all of which can be devastating to your reputation and practice yet all are possibilities regardless of the merit of allegations or credibility of a complainant. While some studies suggest that lack of board certification and male gender working in family or general practice, obstetrics and gynecology, and psychiatry have increased incidences of complaints, the fact is that any doctor or healthcare worker can become the focus of a complaint.

Improper Examinations

Sexual misconduct complaints, civil or licensing or criminal, against doctors typically result when (usually female) patients accuse the physician of improper conduct during a physical examination. As in any profession, a minute percentage of doctors do actually abuse the doctor-patient relationship but more often complaints are founded on poor communication regarding a procedure or examination, a misunderstanding of the doctor’s intent or motives, a lack of chaperone during an exam, or misplaced anger against the medical professional.

Inappropriate Touching

Many of the Complaints Against Doctors our lawyers defend are based on the characterization of a physician’s touching a patient as “inappropriate” which in essence means the conduct is not clinically appropriate or warranted. Unfortunately in unchaperoned situations the case comes down to the doctor’s word against the patient’s claim. In spite of the life saving service of the medical profession, doctors are rarely loved by juries and as with any defendant, there’s a not-too-subtle belief that a doctor would not have been charged or arrested had they not done something wrong. For this reason, your advance defense preparation (see What We Do) will decide your future rather than your testimony on a witness stand.

Criminal Defense

For a physician who senses a sexual misconduct complaint could be forthcoming, whether civil, medical license, or criminal, it makes sense to connect with a criminal defense lawyer experienced in professional misconduct matters. Often the difference between a quick debunking of allegations and complaint dismissal and a drawn out media circus with accompanying licensing nightmare is the early assistance of a qualified criminal defense lawyer with experience in sex cases as well as professional misconduct. Due to the multi-faceted nature of complaints against doctors, your attorney must understand the intricacies of each as well as how they all fit together to craft the most effective proactive defense.

Medical Board Defense

In sexual misconduct cases healthcare professionals need experienced counsel to protect your right to practice. The rules, procedures, protections, decision criteria and twenty other elements are different from criminal or civil cases, both of which you might also be facing. Powerful cross examination of witnesses against you will be critical and your defense strategy must include a plan for your own testimony, if any, at a license hearing. We understand that your license to practice is vital to maintain your income and professional status.

Doctors, nurses, mental health and other professionals must proactively defend any formal complaint and for all of the above reasons you should contact an experienced medical misconduct attorney to learn your rights.

203.393.3017 or