As with many medical-related fields, optometry is regulated to protect the public’s safety. The California State Board of Optometry grants licenses to individuals who have met the relevant requirements. As a license holder, you can apply for employment in healthcare facilities, join a professional organization, make diagnoses, establish your private practice, and treat patients. Without a license, these opportunities become unavailable. Consequently, you should take any allegation of professional misconduct seriously. Consulting a lawyer like Santa Cruz License Attorney can significantly lower the effects of investigation and disciplinary action and potentially save your career and livelihood. We can stand with you throughout the complicated disciplinary process.

Who is an Optometrist?

An optometrist is an eye doctor but is different from your primary care physician. They offer primary vision care (perform eye wellness checks).

To patients with vision or eye challenges, you are the first stop and can treat the issue yourself. However, if the condition is outside your practice’s scope or requires a surgical procedure, you can refer your patient to an ophthalmologist.

Here are some of the everyday tasks of an optometrist:

  • Conducting eye examinations to check your visual acuity and diagnose or monitor eye ailments like macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma
  • Writing prescriptions for glasses and contact lenses
  • Writing prescriptions for systemic and ophthalmic medicines, your eyes might require
  • Counseling patients on their treatment options
  • Doing vision therapy and low-vision rehabilitation

You will not attend medical school. Instead, you will complete a four-year optometry program where you will comprehensively study the human eyes. You will also do a one-year residency after the optometry school to acquire experience handling patients. Finally, you must pass the National Board of Examiners in Optometry examination before applying for a license to practice.

California State Board of Optometry

The California State Board of Optometry is responsible for serving optometrists and the public by enforcing and promoting rules that ensure top-notch care and safeguard the safety and health of patients. To fulfil the mandate, the board protects patients from incompetent, negligent, and unsafe healthcare providers.

The agency has disciplinary guidelines that anyone involved in the disciplinary process, including an administrative law judge, board personnel, licensees, and lawyers from the Office of the Attorney General, can use. The licensing agency has the final say over disciplinary cases’ disposition and uses the Office of Administrative Hearings and the Office of the Attorney General to achieve this.

Common violations or allegations that could lead to disciplinary proceedings include the following:

  • Gross negligence
  • Engaging in fraudulent, dishonest, or corrupt conduct that is significantly associated with your functions, duties, or qualifications
  • Incompetence
  • Illegal advertising
  • You acquired your professional license through misrepresentation or fraud
  • A conviction of any crime that is significantly associated with your functions, duties, or qualifications
  • Failing to satisfy continuing education requirement
  • Repeated excessive prescribing
  • Repeated acts of excessive use of therapeutic or diagnostic procedures
  • Sexual misconduct
  • Substance abuse or addiction, mainly while on the job
  • Failing to adhere to health and safety standards like infection control

Your licensing agency uses uniform disciplinary guidelines to ensure uniformity in California disciplinary proceedings for similar allegations. Attorneys, the board when handling cases involving alcohol and substance abuse, ALJ, and optometrists can use these guidelines.

The board will revoke your license if the ALJ or your agency concludes that you cannot practice optometry professionally and safely. It could also impose a stay revocation with probation.

Your lawyer can help you settle the matter with your board without proceeding to the administrative hearing. First, your lawyer will work aggressively to obtain a case dismissal. If that is impossible, they will engage in negotiations with the board. Before approving the settlement, the board will determine whether it is valid.

The board can issue a citation that comes with fines. You can also be ordered via an abatement order to stop the conduct that led to the fine. While the citation is a less severe penalty, you must fight it because it can adversely affect your professional reputation and career once the public sees it.

Mitigating and Aggravating Factors

Highlighted below are mitigating and aggravating circumstances the ALJ considers when proposing the appropriate disciplinary decision.

The aggravating factors are as follows:

  • Whether you jeopardized the patient’s well-being, safety, trust, or health
  • Whether you have previously faced disciplinary measures
  • Whether you have more than one previous conviction or violation associated with your violation
  • Whether the act is violent
  • Violating your probation term
  • Committing an offense against a minor, while taking care of the minor, or while knowingly in the presence of the child

Some of the mitigating factors that your lawyer can use to reduce the severity of your penalties include the following:

  • You do not have previous disciplinary or criminal history
  • A significant duration has passed since the conviction or violation happened
  • You have recognized your wrongdoing and have shown rehabilitation to prevent recurrence

Professional License Investigation

The California State Board of Optometry should investigate your professional license based on complaints from your clients, competitors, colleagues, employer, or any other party. The investigation can lead to the board filing a formal accusation or issuing a fine and citation. Citations and accusations are part of your record, and public details the board posts on its website.

You will receive an investigative inquiry notice if you learn of the investigations. Do not ignore your allegations, even if you believe they are minor or you are innocent. Ignoring them can lead to a negative mark on your professional record and reputation.

Instead, you should proactively protect the license by consulting skilled legal representation. Your lawyer will appropriately respond to the inquiry. A well-written response to your investigative inquiry could prevent the board from issuing a citation or accusation. The experienced attorney can also ensure you do not incriminate yourself or adversely affect your license defense in subsequent administrative proceedings.

Submitting your defense notice to your licensing agency secures your right to defend your license against brutal disciplinary action. Before starting your defense process, your lawyer should analyze the necessary paperwork regarding the accusation and ensure you follow the instructions. That way, the lawyer will determine the records to submit to the board without creating additional legal challenges.

Failing to alert the board of your intention to defend the license could lead to a default ruling. In other words, the board will impose disciplinary action without listening to your side of the story.

Reinstating Your Suspended Optometry Professional License

Professional license suspension is not permanent, and you can continue practicing optometry by reinstating your license. However, reinstatement of the license is not automatic. It involves a complicated and lengthy process that requires the help of a skilled lawyer.

The correct duration must have passed before you qualify for reinstatement. The waiting durations are as follows:

  • You should wait three (3) years from when the board suspended the license to file your reinstatement petition if it suspended the license due to unprofessional behavior.
  • If the board suspends the license due to a mental health condition, a year should pass before the reinstatement.
  • If you are convicted or charged with a crime, you should first complete the sentence. It includes serving probation and incarceration duration.

If you want to seek a reduction of the suspension duration, you should bring a petition for modification a year after the board imposes this disciplinary action.

Here is what to expect with the reinstatement process:

Satisfy the Qualification Criteria

Before seeking reinstatement, you should meet the eligibility criteria below:

  • You are not serving time or on probation.
  • You are rehabilitated — During your suspension, you should take the appropriate rehabilitation steps based on what caused your suspension. You should document all steps of the rehabilitation journey.

You should present evidence supporting your rehabilitation arguments. You might also require a professional to vouch for your behavior, mainly after your license suspension. For instance, if the board suspends your license due to alcohol or substance abuse, you should prove you completed a drug treatment program.

Bringing a Petition

In the petition, you should present statements discussing why you deserve the license reinstatement. Here is what to include in the petition:

  • How you make a living during the suspension period
  • How the rehabilitation efforts will stop the recurrence of your professional misconduct or conviction
  • Your plan following the license reinstatement (since you must have lost your employment after the suspension, you should have a plan once the board reinstates the license)

After submitting the petition, the California State Board of Optometry will schedule your reinstatement hearing. During the hearing, your lawyer should present the matter to the California State Board of Optometry and prove you have taken the relevant rehabilitative measures.

When determining whether to grant the request, the board will consider the duration that has elapsed since it suspended your license.  An extended duration between the suspension and petition filing could signify your rehabilitation’s effectiveness and reduce the chances of making a similar breach.

The California State Board of Optometry will review the petition before granting the request. Please note not every petition is successful. 

Disclosing Your Conviction to the Board

The board ensures licensees perform their responsibilities professionally and safely. You should report your conviction to your licensing agency if you were convicted and arrested for a crime.

Typically, the prosecutor will notify your licensing board of the conviction. Fulfilling your obligation to report can assist you avoid the consequences of hiding your conviction. Many people think that reporting their convictions could end their careers. Well, that is not always the case.

After reporting, the board will give you the support and help you require for rehabilitation to continue practicing. The board requires you to report mainly to ensure the public’s safety. Not every conviction is due to disregard for California laws. Sometimes, a mental health disease or drug addiction could cause you to commit an offense like a sex crime or driving under the influence.

The law requires you to report the following:

  • Felony and misdemeanor convictions — In this context, a conviction is a criminal case in which the jury or judge issues a guilty verdict.
  • Nolo contendere plea
  • Deferred entry of judgment — It involves pleading nolo contendere or guilty to the criminal charge, and the judge deferring the sentencing as you are on probation. The judge will dismiss the charge after completing probation.

The compulsory self-reporting requirement is during license renewal. You should submit details about your conviction(s) since your last professional license renewal. Ensure you explain what caused your conviction and arrest. You should also report to your board after your conviction.

Remember, the board can learn of your conviction from the prosecutor. Failure to self-report can attract fines.

The California State Board of Optometry will conduct independent investigations after you give your story version. The investigation will assist in determining whether your behavior is a pattern issue. The board wants to know whether you have another problem that contributed to the offense. For instance, evidence of drug addiction or mental disease helps the California State Board of Optometry determine the cause of action.

You should prepare for your interview adequately. Do not answer questions about your offense if the judge has not found you guilty. The board and the prosecution team can use the details you provide against you.

Your capability to resolve the matter at your administrative hearing determines the disciplinary action you face.

Find a Healthcare Professional License Defense Counsel Near Me

Diagnosing eye-related health conditions and helping patients improve their vision and well-being takes extensive experience and skills. The years you have spent studying, building your professional reputation, and serving your patients could make learning of an allegation against you more frustrating. A complaint can turn your future, career, and livelihood upside down, and in the wake of a severe violation, you risk a license revocation. You deserve aggressive defense and a chance to explain yourself before the board. Santa Cruz License Attorney recognizes what is at stake and can guide you throughout the disciplinary process. We can work aggressively to help you realize the best possible case outcome.

Call us at 831-732-4390 to schedule your free case review. The sooner you discuss your case with us, the sooner we can assist you in building a practical defense strategy.