Social work is a noble profession that requires dedication, sacrifice, and compassion. It is a job that impacts thousands of lives in Indiana, making the state a better place. However, social workers are held to certain professional ethics and standards. Failure to meet these standards can result in discipline, including license suspension or revocation. The loss of a license can be catastrophic for a social worker's career. By understanding the reasons that an Indiana social worker could lose their license, a person can take the necessary steps to avoid these issues.

Negligence and Malpractice

Negligence occurs when a social worker breaches the duty of care owed to their client. Malpractice, on the other hand, may occur when a social worker causes harm to a client as a result of professional misconduct or errors. Both negligence and malpractice can result in disciplinary action and the revocation of a social worker's license. To prevent negligence and malpractice, social workers must be diligent in their interactions with clients and draw firm boundaries.

At the end of January, an Indiana bariatric and general surgeon found himself in a nightmare scenario: Someone submitted a petition to the Indiana Medical Licensing Board calling the surgeon’s competency in practicing medicine so lacking that he was a clear, urgent danger to the public. Just a few days later, the surgeon found himself, with the help of his attorneys, testifying in his own defense in an investigation into some of his practices, including performing surgery in an office that is not a certified outpatient surgical center.

The petition followed an investigation from the previous year, in which investigative journalists discovered that the surgeon had over a dozen malpractice claims against him. Just a month after the investigation went public, a patient of the surgeon died after a bowel puncture from liposuction the surgeon performed became septic. Despite the surgeon’s protestations, his license was suspended for at least 90 days, during which the board will conduct an extensive review and, in April, again suspend the license or revoke it altogether.

Why Are Medical Licenses Suspended?

Licenses to practice medicine of any kind can be suspended or revoked for many reasons. In the case of this surgeon, the suspension follows years of allegations of misconduct, including improper anesthesia administration, infections following surgery, and two patient deaths. Other reasons that a license could be suspended include, but are not limited to:

Romance is one of those funny parts of being a human - we all think about it, we all need it to some extent, and we all have very little control over the time and place in which we fall in love with someone. Despite the current social taboo against people meeting at work, couples are nevertheless continuing to find each other at work and carrying on relationships, whether covertly or otherwise.

However, for doctors and other healthcare practitioners, the question of relationships at work is significantly more complicated because the relationships doctors most often see at work are not lateral - coworker to coworker - but instead are hierarchical - doctor to patient. In addition to the inherent ethical issues at stake, there are strict professional guidelines to which medical professionals must adhere. Failing to do so can expose a doctor, nurse, psychologist, or any other health worker to serious professional repercussions, including investigation, sanction, and even permanent loss of license. If you are being investigated for an improper patient relationship, it is essential to have a skilled professional license defense attorney protecting your hard work and investment in your career.

When Can a Doctor Date a Patient?

The short answer to this question is: Never. As long as the doctor and the patient share a professional relationship, there cannot be a romantic relationship of any kind between them. Any professional relationship must be formally terminated before a doctor and a former patient can engage in a romantic, sexual, or other dating relationship.

Whether through a divorce or breakup, court-ordered child support payments often rankle the sentiments of the person ordered to make payments. This could be because the person making payments (payor) did not want the child in the first place, or did not support the divorce or breakup; other times, it is because the payor can see that payments are benefitting the child’s other parent, rather than the child. Job loss, addiction, or criminal behavior could also lead to nonpayment of child support.

Whatever the reason, people sometimes fall behind on child support payments and get caught up in the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS), the legal system intended to resolve child support issues. While the people who work in this system are undoubtedly well-intentioned, they are not always well-informed or considerate as they work to enforce child support orders. If you are behind on child support payments and are worried that your professional medical license could suffer, read on.

How Does Indiana Enforce Child Support Orders?

The longer a child support order goes unpaid, the more aggressive DCS becomes in pursuing payments. Courts may require parents to pay child support directly out of their wages, or through intercepting federal income tax refunds. Rarely does a payor reach the point of having their professional license sanctioned without facing other severe consequences.

With a long history of effectively diagnosing and treating bone, joint, and muscle disorders, chiropractors are often part of someone’s trusted team of healthcare providers. However, like any other health professional, chiropractors can face disciplinary procedures and even criminal charges.

Even if you have never faced disciplinary procedures, it is important to understand what kind of issues could lead to professional sanctions like license revocation, suspension, or probation. If you are already under investigation by the board, make sure you take immediate action to protect yourself with the help of an Indiana professional license defense attorney.

Common Reasons for Chiropractic License Suspension

Many behaviors have the potential to result in professional license discipline for chiropractors in Illinois, including: