Nursing License Defense Lawyer

in Denver and all Colorado

Nursing Board License Defense

Colorado nurses make careers out of caring for others. Those careers depend on having a clean license with the Board of Nursing. When a nurse is accused of misconduct or practice errors, the Board has enormous power to discipline or revoke the nurse’s professional license. Like nurses, though, the Board is imperfect. The Board tries to protect the public, but it can overreact to ordinary nursing mistakes or behavioral health concerns, and it may give too much credit to speculative accusations. A specialized attorney can help defend the nurse’s license, so the nurse can continue their career of service.

The Colorado Board of Nursing begins disciplinary cases with a complaint that requires a response within 30 days. Whether you are an LPN, RN, or an APRN such as an NP or CRNA, the stakes are high and you should contact a nursing license lawyer. Even minor discipline can have downstream effects on licenses in other states, DEA registration, Medicare reimbursement via HHS OIG exclusion, advanced practice eligibility, and more. If the disciplinary action relates to criminal charges, the stakes may be even higher. Most situations are salvageable with a good defense, so don’t panic–but be prepared for a fight.

License Defense Specialist

Matt Hand is an honors graduate of NYU Law and former criminal prosecutor. I have won the large majority of about 50 jury trials as both a prosecutor and defender, and I have handled hundreds of other hearings, from civil to administrative to criminal. I have defended hundreds of licensed professionals, including lawyers, nurses, dentists, therapists, and more.

My practice is focused on the special needs that healthcare professionals have when facing allegations of criminal or professional misconduct. I am not a nurse, but I have extensive experience with the Board of Nursing, DORA, and the Office of Administrative Courts, as well as the broader regulatory world that affects Colorado healthcare professionals– from DEA licenses to insurance credentialing to Adult Protective Services and more.

Legal Services and Areas of Service

Include basic information about the allegations against you and the next deadline or court date. Including a copy of the complaint or charging document will help me respond promptly and productively.

My criminal defense practice primarily serves Colorado professionals licensed by DORA boards such as the Board of Nursing, Medical Board, Board of Pharmacy, Dental Board, and Board of Veterinary Medicine. I accept criminal cases that do not involve a healthcare license when I have availability.

Client Reviews

I found myself in a poor position with my nursing license. It was quite a complex case being that it was multi-state. Matt instructed me on multiple things to do to help my case. He laid it all out to me on all possible outcomes and is extremely knowledgeable in his field. Thankfully, we were able to get the case dismissed. Highly recommend him if you’re trying to protect your license!

Jack Doe

Matt exceeded our expectations in protecting me. He’s extremely knowledgeable about DORA cases and ensured we had a successful outcome. I’m very grateful for his help and hard work. I spoke with several lawyers prior to Matt, and he was the most professional, kind, and helpful person from our first interaction moving forward.

Jane Doe

Matt represented me in a case where false allegations were reported to the BON against my nursing license. Matt advised me on what actions to take, documents to gather, and he listened to me. I was immediately comforted. He compiled a response and did an amazing job! The BON dismissed all allegations and no discipline was imposed on my license. I strongly recommend Matthew Hand.

John Doe

Nursing License - Causes of Discipline

The Colorado Board of Nursing is empowered by law to discipline nursing licensees for a range of unprofessional conduct. Most incidents giving rise to discipline can be characterized as triggering multiple grounds for discipline. Sometimes it is possible to defend each and every claimed ground for discipline– Matt Hand regularly wins dismissals of complaints, though every case is different. Sometimes it is necessary to admit the unprofessional conduct as part of an agreement to receive tolerable disciplinary sanctions. Sometimes it is possible to contest certain claimed unprofessional conduct, while admitting other conduct, to obtain more proportionate, reasonable discipline. A nursing license defense lawyer can guide you through this minefield. What follows is a list of some common grounds for nursing license discipline.

Sometimes it is necessary to admit the unprofessional conduct as part of an agreement to receive tolerable disciplinary sanctions. Sometimes it is possible to contest certain claimed unprofessional conduct, while admitting other conduct, to obtain more proportionate, reasonable discipline. A nursing license defense lawyer can guide you through this minefield. What follows is a list of some common grounds for nursing license discipline.

Fraud or deception, whether by lie or omission, in regards to license applications or renewals
Certain criminal convictions, including felonies, and any crime that relates to the person’s employment as a nurse, or that indicates an alcohol or drug use disorder
Willful or negligent conduct inconsistent with the health or safety of persons under the nurse’s care
Nursing license suspensions or revocations in another jurisdiction
Violation of a range of particular nursing-related laws, rules, or orders of the nursing board
Practicing nursing in a manner that fails to meet generally accepted standards for the nursing practice
Falsifying or negligently making incorrect entries, or failing to make essential entries, on patient records
Excessive use or abuse of alcohol or drugs, or diverting controlled substances from work
Distributing to family or self any controlled substance
Dispensing or injecting an anabolic steroid except under narrow circumstances
Having a physical or mental disability that renders the person unable to practice nursing with reasonable skill and safety to patients
Violating laws regarding patient confidentiality
Health insurance abuse, insurance fraud, or willful and repeated ordering of demonstrably unnecessary laboratory tests or studies, or other unnecessary treatment, failure to obtain consultations or perform referrals, etc.
Administering, dispensing, or prescribing any habit-forming drug or any controlled substance, other than in the course of legitimate professional practice.
Willfully failing to respond in a materially factual and timely manner to a disciplinary complaint
Misrepresenting to the public one’s credentials, or practicing on a license that is suspended, revoked, or inactive.
Failure to report to the nursing board, within 45 days after a final conviction, that the person has been convicted of a crime.
Failure to maintain professional liability insurance

Nursing License - Disciplinary Sanctions

When grounds for discipline against a license exist, the Colorado Board of Nursing may impose a wide range of possible disciplinary sanctions. In narrow circumstances, the nursing board may determine that no formal action is necessary, and may only send the nurse a confidential letter of concern. At the other extreme, the nursing board may revoke a nursing license completely. Between those two extremes are a range of increasing intermediate sanctions, from a letter of admonition (essentially a public reprimand), to a probationary license with practice restrictions, education and treatment requirements, to temporary suspensions of a nursing license.

These different levels of sanctions can be, from the perspective of the nurse, the difference between a manageable speed bump and a catastrophic head-on collision. An aggressive nursing license defense lawyer will fight to improve and manage the potentially severe consequences of a disciplinary action, so that you can maintain your career, your reputation, and your sense of self.

The Board of Nursing has an immense amount of discretion in choosing disciplinary sanctions, as long as it is following the law and acting in what it believes is the public interest. Though possible, it is difficult to challenge their final determination of one sanction versus another, once they have proven that some discipline was warranted. Generally, courts will uphold the Board’s choice of sanctions unless the sanctions bear no relation to the conduct, are manifestly excessive in relation to the needs of the public, or constitute a gross abuse of its discretion. Those are high bars to overcome, and so it is important for a lawyer to try to influence the nursing board’s decision up front, through negotiation, or through litigation in the administrative courts, where complaints that have not been settled are first developed and challenged by the two sides.

For both negotiation and litigation, the key is to credibly and persuasively deny what can be effectively denied, to contextualize and mitigate any unprofessional conduct that did occur, and to persuade the Nursing Board that severe discipline is not necessary to protect the public. These efforts take a variety of forms, from interviewing fact witnesses, to retaining experts to opine on standards of care, to getting the nurse treatment for drug or alcohol use disorders, to obtaining character and reference letters, to using unique procedural statutes and regulations to the nurse’s advantage, and much more. At all points, a nursing license lawyer will be fighting to ensure that the nurse’s rights are not violated, that the Board of Nursing is held to its burden of proof, that the Board of Nursing does not exceed its legal authority, and that the most persuasive arguments in favor of the nurse are presented in every forum, from initial negotiations with the Board, all the way to appeals, if necessary.

Criminal Charges and Nursing License

Criminal charges against a nurse can give rise to disciplinary action against the nurse’s professional license, even when the criminal allegations had nothing to do with the workplace, and sometimes even when the criminal charges are beaten by the nurse (this is complex).

Occasionally, criminal charges can be filed for ordinary mistakes in the course of nursing. Criminal charges against a nurse require a coordinated defense, by an experienced lawyer, of both the criminal case and the Board of Nursing license action. Most criminal convictions must be reported to the nursing board within 30 days of conviction, and any nursing renewal application will inquire about such cases. But the law specifies that only certain crimes constitute unprofessional conduct warranting license discipline: felonies, crimes that relate to one’s work as a nurse, crimes that endanger someone under the nurse’s care, crimes that indicate excessive use or abuse of alcohol or drugs, and crimes that implicate any of the various other triggers for discipline.

Most criminal convictions must be reported to the nursing board within 30 days of conviction, and any nursing renewal application will inquire about such cases. But the law specifies that only certain crimes constitute unprofessional conduct warranting license discipline: felonies, crimes that relate to one’s work as a nurse, crimes that endanger someone under the nurse’s care, crimes that indicate excessive use or abuse of alcohol or drugs, and crimes that implicate any of the various other triggers for discipline.

Sometimes the Board will ignore the formal result of the criminal case, and attempt to discipline a nurse based simply on concerns raised by the underlying conduct in a criminal case, whether they are behavioral concerns or drug/alcohol concerns.

Because of potentially severe professional license consequences, it is typically necessary for a nurse or doctor to be more aggressive, than the average person, in defending against criminal accusations. Even when the criminal consequences may seem mild (say, merely a fine or probation), the act of pleading guilty can trigger serious consequences for a nursing license. So if you’ve been charged with a crime, slow down, and get help. I am a former prosecutor with an extensive criminal defense practice. I have fought for doctors, nurses and allied health professionals charged with felony assault, domestic violence, DUIs, child abuse, hit and run, theft, and more. Though every case is different, in many appropriate cases I have obtained dismissals or acquittals of serious charges, thereby avoiding or limiting disciplinary action against their licenses. In other cases, we have been able to present mitigation and structure a favorable plea in the criminal case, while limiting the impact to the person’s professional license.

Alcohol & Drug Abuse and Nursing Licenses

A nursing license is always in danger when a nurse has a problem with excessive alcohol use or drug abuse, but in many cases there are ways to preserve the nursing license without too many restrictions. In some cases, the matter can even be kept confidential, which is normally a challenge with nursing license discipline. Ideally a nurse would self-identify a problem and get professional help before the nursing board takes action. But even after the board has initiated action, a coordinated legal defense and serious efforts at achieving sobriety will create a manageable path forward. Do not despair, just begin to get help.

Note that there are a number of ways that a nurse’s problems with alcohol or drugs may come to light and trigger discipline. The law states that discipline is authorized when a nurse “excessively uses or abuses alcohol, habit-forming drugs, controlled substances,” or diverts controlled substance from a place of employment, and related situations. Sometimes these issues come to light when a nurse is charged with a DUI, drug possession, or is charged with theft or diversion of controlled substances. Sometimes these issues come to light in a criminal case that on its face may have nothing to do drugs or alcohol. For example, a domestic violence case where alcohol played a role in the conduct may independently trigger board action based on the alcohol concerns, after the nurse discloses that case to the board. Or separately, if a nurse is reporting to work under the influence, and thereby endangering the patients under his or her care, that will become a separate basis for serious board discipline against a nursing license. However the board takes notice, whatever prompts the board action, treatment, sobriety, and a coordinated legal defense of your license are critical to creating a positive path forward.

One of the keys to any of these cases, or to preventing a case in the first place, is Peer Assistance Services, a non-profit with a contract to administer and oversee treatment of nurses in Colorado. It is the vendor Colorado uses both as an alternative to discipline, and as a means of overseeing treatment as a rehabilitative element of license discipline. However, unlike traditional therapy, there are critical limitations to the confidentiality of what you discuss with Peer Assistance– they work closely with the Board of Nursing. Discuss with an attorney before you choose to self-report anything to the Board of Nursing or Peer Assistance.

The Board of Nursing has empowered its program director to authorize non-public participation in treatment via Peer Assistance under certain circumstances, even after a complaint has been made against the nurse for having a problem with drugs or alcohol. Nothing requires the program director to offer this favorable resolution to anybody, but for license holders without disciplinary history, it is sometimes possible to close a matter administratively, and without public discipline, upon the nurse licensee signing an agreement to obtain treatment with Peer Assistance. In rare circumstances it may be possible for a person with disciplinary history to obtain such an agreement. In all cases, this possibility should be discussed with your attorney to see if you have a shot at it.

Nursing License Links

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to report arrests to my Colorado professional licensing board?

Check with an attorney about your specific situation. Many convictions require reporting, but most arrests do not require reporting unless they lead to a conviction. There are exceptions, though– an arrest of a pharmacist for charges related to controlled substances usually requires reporting within 72 hours. And some arrests will be reportable at the time of license renewal, even if the arrest did not lead to conviction. Usually, though, an arrest that did not lead to a conviction can be sealed, but it is important to do this before any reporting obligations are triggered. This is a delicate and technical issue, and you should retain an attorney before making a decision to either report, or not report, an arrest.

Do I have to report criminal convictions to my Colorado professional licensing board?

Every board is different, so you’ll need to check with an attorney about your specific situation. Most healthcare boards (Board of Nursing, Medical Board, Board of Pharmacy, etc.) require their licensees to self-report convictions for at least some crimes, usually within 30 days. And most boards define “conviction” to include any plea of guilty, including deferred judgments. But the rules (such as deadlines for the self-report) can differ depending on whether the conviction is a felony or a misdemeanor, whether the conviction involves controlled substances or relates to work, and more. These laws, regulations and policies can be somewhat complex, but the complexity increases further when evaluating whether a criminal conviction is going to lead to license discipline. Generally, there is more risk to licenses from convictions that relate to work, involve sexual misconduct, reveal drug or alcohol use disorders, or which generally call into question the character of the professional. Talk with a lawyer about your specific situation, though.

Is professional license discipline public?

Generally, yes. Each board is different, with different statutes, regulations, and policies that affect their flexibility to resolve cases without public discipline. There are non-disciplinary, non-public “confidential letters of concern” that we can seek in a variety of situations. And there are some structured “alternative to discipline” agreements available in limited situations. But by law, most discipline is public, and healthcare license discipline is generally permanently public. Discipline will usually be findable on Colorado’s DORA website, as well as national resources such as the National Practitioner Data Bank.

Do you take license-defense insurance?

I do work with professionals who have license defense insurance. However, insurance is not perfect. Insurance reimbursement rates are often lower than market rate for experienced attorneys, and some insurers will not make payment on a claim until the case is resolved—which can take months, sometimes longer than a year. As a result, I will still need a significant retainer from a client who has insurance. I will usually bill my full rate against that retainer, and the client will be responsible for getting reimbursed from insurance. I will help the client document the work performed, though, so that the insurer understands it is a valid claim. In some situations, I can bill the professional’s insurer directly, but that is the exception due to the above concerns. Email to set up a consultation if this is your concern.

Do you offer payment plans?

Only rarely. I will sometimes accommodate partial payment plans if litigation (e.g., trial) becomes necessary, since litigation requires a much larger commitment of attorney time and is therefore more expensive. But most cases resolve without litigation, with my work frontloaded into the first 3-4 weeks after being retained. I usually set the retainer (the up-front deposit needed to begin work) as a rough estimate of how much that early surge of work will cost. In order to turn down other cases and commit myself to your defense, I need that retainer in full. I do accept both debit and credit cards.
That said, if work winds up exceeding the retainer, or if the scope of representation changes due to additional cases being filed against you, or collateral matters coming up, etc., I will try to find a way to continue working with you, even if you need some payment flexibility. I sometimes offer discounts for some professionals (e.g. CNA’s, LPN’s) when I have the capacity in my practice to do so. And I will often discount “extra” work that was unforeseeable when we began. In many cases, I can set a flat fee for the work, to take away most of the financial uncertainty involved in hiring me.

Are there any criminal cases you don’t take?

As both a prosecutor and defense lawyer, I have handled everything from shoplifting and traffic cases to sexual assault and homicides. But the bulk of my criminal defense practice involves assaults, domestic violence, and DUI’s. I predominantly help healthcare and other professionals whose criminal cases may have professional license impacts, though. My professional license defense practice is statewide, but my criminal practice is normally limited to courts within 45 minutes of Denver: Denver County, Jefferson County, Arapahoe County, Douglas County, Adams County, Broomfield County, Boulder County, Clear Creek County, and Gilpin County– as well as municipal courts. For licensed professionals who are outside of that range—I can help you find a great attorney to handle the criminal defense case wherever you are, and I can provide you with representation in defense of your license. (Most criminal defense lawyers do not handle professional license defense themselves). Whatever your situation, don’t hesitate to email me at matt@handlaw.com with info about your charges, the next court date and location. I will respond to schedule a consultation if I am available for your case, or to provide you a referral if I am unavailable.

To schedule a free phone consultation,
please email: matt@handlaw.com

Include your phone number and basic information about the allegations against you. For professional license cases, attaching a PDF of the complaint is best, but at least indicate what license you hold and any upcoming deadline. For criminal cases, indicate what charges you are facing, plus the next court date and location. I will respond promptly. All emails and consultation with me are confidential.