California Professional License Defense Blog

Popular Mammoth Lakes physician Dr. Andrew Bourne ended his own life on January 4, 2012 shortly after being accused of sexual abuse of a Santa Barbara teen. Both Dr. Bourne and Joseph Walker, 48 are accused of soliciting sex from a minor and unlawful sexual intercourse. Both had pleaded not guilty.

The charges stem from the discovery of over 1,000 emails between Bourne and Walker with the teen that allegedly described the sexual relationships. According to Santa Barbara District Attorney officials, the teen was the daughter of Bourne's family friends and Bourne had admitted to the sexual relationship with investigators.

At the time of his death, Bourne was not under investigation with the California Medical Board and no formal Accusation had been filed.

Montebello physician Arturo Vargas, 41 was charged with two counts of sexual penetration by a foreign object and sexual battery and a misdemeanor count of sexual exploitation by a physician. Dr. Vargas was arrested and released on $200,000 bail.

Montebello police started their investigation last summer after a woman reported being sexually abused by Vargas. A report was taken and forwarded to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office where the case was filed and an arrest warrant went out.

Starting July, 2, 2012, the Medical Board of California is required to deny an application for licensure and to suspend the license of any physician who has outstanding financial obligations to the Franchise Tax Board or State Board of Equalization and appears on either the BOE’s or FTB’s certified list of top 500 tax delinquencies over $100,000.

If you fall into this category, you have 90 days from the issuance of the notice of suspension to either pay the amount due or make financial arrangements with the agency owed. One can be on a payment plan and satisfy the requirement for repayment.

Officers serving an arrest warrant for Santa Barbara physician Julio Diaz searched his stepson’s room and found jars of marijuana, hash, firearms and large quantities of cash. Diaz’s stepson, Jose Trinidad was living with Diaz and was subsequently arrested for narcotic trafficking.

Julio Diaz was arrested Tuesday for allegedly writing prescriptions for Oxycontin to individuals who are drug addicts. Many who sought prescriptions from Diaz have overdosed. In addition, the affidavit stated two female patients admitted to getting narcotics from Diaz in exchange for sexual favors.

Diaz operated Family Medical Clinic of Santa Barbara. There is not currently any accusation pending by the California Medical Board.

A finding that a California physician committed professional misconduct after engaging in sexual relations with a patient does not require the physician to instigate, request or return the sexual favor, the Court of Appeal of California, Third Appellate District said in an August 31, 2011 ruling in William Joseph Roy, Jr., V. The Superior Court of Sacramento County.

After denying Roy’s petition to vacate a trial court’s decision, the court said the state medical board findings “were not based on speculation or conjecture, but on reasonable inferences derived from the entire body of evidence in the administrative record.”

The case involved Dr. Roy, a gynecological oncologist who was accused of having sexual relations with two female patients in 2007. After his administrative law hearing, the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) found no discipline was warranted due to the sexual contact in one case was relatively brief, unsolicited, one-sided and that “a physician cannot be held accountable for the unilateral sexual conduct of their patients.”

The California Medical Board rejected the ALJ’s decision, finding there was good cause to impose discipline and ordering a public reprimand of Dr. Roy. In addition, the medical board ordered Dr. Roy to take and complete an ethics course and professional boundaries course.

Roy appealed the non-adoption by the California Medical Board stating he cannot be disciplined by simply being the receiver of sexual favors. The trial court agreed with the board and found Roy’s conduct to constitute “sexual relations” under California Business and Professions Code 726.

Domestic violence arrests and charges have become rather common in criminal court. Those arrested may be esteemed members of our community such as physicians, lawyers, judges, politicians and business owners who have a career at stake. For California physicians who have been arrested for domestic violence, having a skilled criminal defense attorney and California professional license attorney immediately after your arrest may be the difference between having an accusation filed by the California Medical Board or not.

When you get arrested for domestic violence, the standard protocol is that the officer making the arrest issues a 5 day restraining order preventing contact between the victim and suspect. This means that within the 5 days, the prosecuting agency has to decide whether the case is serious enough to require judicial intervention and if so, will seek to extended the restraining order.

Skilled criminal defense attorneys will be able to advise clients of the prudent steps to take to mitigate their damage in criminal court. Additionally, working with a medical license attorney will allow advice on how best to proceed so that the California Medical Board will not initiate an investigation based on the arrest.

The California Medical Board takes all arrests seriously, especially domestic violence. They learn of these arrests after fingerprints are input into a database where the suspect is identified as having a California medical license. The Department of Justice, who maintains the database, then notifies the California Medical Board. In turn, the medical board will contact the licensed physician requesting to set up a meeting.

If you are being investigated by the California Medical Board, you may want to pull out your malpractice policy to see if you have coverage for your defense. Defending your California medical license against the CMB, can be a very costly endeavor. Thus, it might be in your financial interest to see if your policy has coverage.

Some California physicians fear disclosure of a medical board investigation to their insurance carrier may cause their premiums to be increased. While this may be a valid point, keep in mind renewal applications often require disclosure of any such investigations.

Also, many policies allow you to pick your own California Medical Board Attorney rather than being stuck with a panel attorney provided by the carrier. Having the luxury to interview and select a knowledgeable defense attorney you are comfortable with is the first step in keeping your medical license.

The number of Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Driving Under the Influence of Drugs arrests climbed in 2011. DUI related arrests totaled 786 compared to 743 last year. Beefed up patrols and checkpoints in Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Newport Beach, Anaheim and La Habra attempted to get drivers attention and discourage driving under the influence.

An Orange County physician has lost his California medical license for what appears to be a history of overprescribing pain and anxiety medication to a depressed patient who ultimately died of an overdose. Dr. Dariush Javanshir or Irvine, did not contest the California Medical Board’s disciplinary action against him. Dr. Javanshir was not available for comment and his office phone has been disconnected.

Dr. Javanshir had been previously sanctioned by the California Medical Board and has even received a public letter of reprimand as recently as 2004. In May 2007, a patient of Dr. Javanshir’s died from an overdose of propoxyphene, a pain killer. In the month prior to his death, the doctor prescribed over 720 tablets of the pain medication. In addition, Javanshir prescribed 330 tablets of lorazepam.

The California Medical Board is taking a very harsh stance regarding prescribing practices. You can refer to http://www.pilchmankay.com/lawyer-attorney-1681263.html for detailed guidelines regarding prescribing narcotics.

The California Medical Board seems to be filing more and more accusations against California physicians for conduct related to prescription writing. Physicians are now required to take controlled substance continuing educational courses dealing with when and how to prescribe medications for pain.

I get 5-10 calls a week from physicians who are being investigated for failing to follow the guidelines as it relates to prescribing practices. Some of the cases don't get filed, but if they do, major damage to your medical practice can follow.

If you are being investigated by the California Medical Board for prescribing practices or any other matter, feel free to contact our firm for a consultation. Speaking with an attorney can mean the difference between a pubic acknowledgement of medical board sanctions or a non-filing.

Dr. Alvin Mingczech Yee, of Mission Viejo was arrested at his Irvine office on Tuesday night by DEA agents, Orange County Sheriff Deputies and Huntington Beach Police. A 56-count grand jury indictment charges Yee with prescribing drugs outside the usual course of professional practice and without legitimate medical purpose. Authorities say, Yee was often at Starbucks late at night selling prescriptions for cash. Such prescriptions included narcotics such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, vicodin, xanax, adderall and suboxone.

If convicted, Yee faces up to 40 years in federal prison along with a revocation of his California Medical license.

Dr. Yashwant Giri who was arrested in June, 2011 for allegations of sexually abusing two female patients now faces additional charges for a third alleged victim. OCDA prosecutors filed the charges after the alleged woman came forward at the urging of her family and therapist.

The third alleged victim states she was sexually abused in April 2010 in a private room at Placentia-Linda Hospital prior to surgery. According to authorities, Giri was observed by hospital employees of abusing the two initial patients.

If convicted, Giri faces being sentenced to state prison and the loss of his medical license by the California Medical Board

Allegations of sexual abuse by patients is not uncommon and not always substantiated. If you are a physician in California and face similar allegations, it is important that you contact an attorney who is familiar with both, criminal law and California Medical Board.