Garland Nursing License Defense Attorneys

Nurses all across Texas dedicate their lives and jobs to helping other people. Unfortunately, sometimes nurses also face the loss of their licenses to practice. This can happen for a number of reasons, so it is essential for Garland nurses to be aware of professional license defense options should they ever face this situation.

The Garland nursing license defense attorneys at the Leichter Law Firm have years of experience with professional license defense. Not only can they help you better understand why you may be facing the loss of your license, but they can also help you fight against this loss, protecting your reputation as well as your right to practice as a licensed nurse.

Reasons for Nursing License Defense

There are numerous grounds for discipline in nursing, and each may require the need for nursing license defense. Some of these grounds for discipline include:

• Standard of Care Violations
• Sexual & Personal Boundary Violations
• Fraud, Theft & Deception
• Chemical Dependency & Intemperate Use of Drugs
• Lying & Falsification
• Failure to Comply with CE Requirements
• Failure to Pay Licensure Fees in a Timely Manner
• Commission of a Criminal Offense
• Malpractice Suits and Judgments
• Other Deceptive or Fraudulent Conduct

All of the above could result in the revocation of a nursing license. However, you do not simply have to accept this decision. The attorneys of the Leichter Law Firm have the experience and skill necessary for comprehensive license defense. They can help nurses with:

• The Disciplinary Process
• Chemical Dependency Cases
• Criminal Conduct Cases
• Standard of Care Issues
• TPAPN
• Peer Review Actions

Having an experienced attorney working on behalf of your defense is essential, as a seasoned professional will understand the minutia of the license defense legal process.

Knowing a bit more about the Texas Board of Nursing (what used to be the Board of Nurse Examiners for the State of Texas) will help you better understand the disciplinary process you may be facing. The Board is responsible for regulating nursing practice all across the state of Texas, including Garland nurses. This includes RNs (registered nurses), LVNs (licensed vocational nurses), and other designations of nurses, like clinical nurse specialists. The Board follows the Nursing Practice Act, the Texas Administrative Code, and other statutes like the Health & Safety Code and Chapter 53 of the Texas Occupations Code. By doing so, it will grant, deny, or discipline nursing practices—the latter two if it perceives a violation of the Nursing Practice Act.

The Board comprises thirteen (13) members: nine (9) are nurses and four (4) are public members. It has an Executive Director that manages regular and daily operations, such as application processing, open records requests, managing rules and regulations internally, managing and developing internal policies, and general management of the staff. The Board will rarely handle individual cases of nursing license defense. In fact, if you are facing disciplinary action or inquiry, it is far more likely that you will face the Board Staff, rather than the Board itself. The Board Staff comprises investigators, enforcement teams, and attorneys from the Texas Board of Nursing. There are only two cases in which you might encounter the Board itself: if you are invited to the Eligibility & Disciplinary Committee meeting, or if you have gone through a hearing at the State Office of Administrative Hearings and the issue goes to the Board itself for ruling. However, it is still rare for nurses to appear before the Board, though you are certainly able to do so.

The Staff of the Board generally handles two types of cases:

• Practice Related Cases
• Behavioral Cases
• Chemical Dependency
• Criminal History
• Allegations of Mental Health Issues / Psychiatric Disorders
• Pain Management / Required Narcotic Consumption

The Attorney General’s Office generally handles any other case not addressed above. The Board Staff takes each case it is given very seriously. As it prides itself on being “tough” on nurses, it can be extremely intimidating to face. If penalized, a nurse might face:

• Monitoring
• Administrative penalty / fine
• Directive to fulfill neglected obligations
• Public reprimand
• License restriction or impositions on practicing
• TPAPN directive
• Probation or a license / suspension
• Active suspension as requirement of probation
• Revocation of license

Facing any one of these penalties can drastically change a nurse’s life and livelihood. You may be unable to practice, or practice as you want to, and you may be unable to provide for yourself and your family.

It is especially important to know that the Board sometimes streamlines policies, procedures, and ideals in such a way that may prove questionable in individual cases. Having an experienced Garland attorney at your side fighting for your interests may offset the unfairness of this practice in many cases. Through representation, you might be able to avoid an unwarranted penalty in your own case.

Contact a Nursing License Defense Attorney in Garland

If you or someone you work with is facing an inquiry into his or her practice as a nurse, then you could benefit from consulting with an experienced attorney. The attorneys at the Leichter Law Firm have helped many with nursing license defense, and can answer any or all of your questions about the legal process. Contact our offices in Garland today by calling 512-495-9995 to learn more about how we can help you.