You may place immediate trust in your doctor, in that they have the education, experience, and overall capability to treat your illness or injury. Understandably, you may not even think to question whether your doctor has the proper licensure, especially if you heard of them through a recommendation or they proceed with your treatment plan as normal without any formal disclosures. This becomes all the more serious if your doctor further injures you as a result of their being unequipped to treat you properly.聽Continue reading to learn what to do if a doctor treats you without retaining the proper medical license and how an experienced New York City medical malpractice attorney at Mark L. Bodner, P.C. can help you rectify this serious situation.
How might a doctor conduct an unauthorized practice of medicine?
Your doctor may be, or once was, a licensed professional in New York State. However, extenuating circumstances may make it that they cannot and should not attend to your healthcare needs. For example, your doctor may not be specifically licensed in the area of medicine you require treatment in. Or, your doctor may have failed a background check and subsequently failed to get their expired medical license renewed. Lastly, your doctor may have been found guilty in an incident of medical misconduct and has yet to complete a certain amount of community service hours, education courses, etc to get their license reinstated.
What should I do if a doctor treats me without the proper medical license?
You must understand that it may be considered a criminal offense for a doctor to treat you without proper licensure in New York State. This is regardless of whether they gave you advice or treatment, whether it was done accidentally or intentionally, etc. So if you discover you have been made a victim of this, you must notify your local law enforcement. Ultimately, if your doctor is found guilty of what you are accusing them of, they may be charged to serve time in prison, go on probation, pay fines, or pay restitution.
In addition, you should contact the New York State Department of Health’s Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC) or Office of Professional Discipline (OPD). Of note, these are the authorities charged with administering medical licenses in the first place and subsequently enforcing penalties when necessary. So if the Board finds your doctor guilty of improperly practicing medicine at your expense, it may bar them from practicing in any capacity in New York State indefinitely, among other consequences.
At the end of the day, if you have any lingering doubts about your medical malpractice case, a skilled New York City medical malpractice attorney can help relieve them. So whenever you are ready to start, please reach out to Mark L. Bodner, P.C.