A physician client going through a difficult period of his life
experienced a substance abuse incident. In order to avoid giving the
physician a chance to pursue rehabilitation as suggested by agency
regulations his hospital created a series of false charges of
negligence against him, ignoring the software issues that actually
created the alleged problems. The physician appealed to the
Disciplinary Appeals Board (“DAB”) while diligently pursuing
rehabilitation.
Pines Federal attorneys were able to disprove the additional charges
the agency used to justify the removal of the physician with detailed
testimony about the software at issue in the case. Under questioning,
Pines Federal attorneys got the proposing official to admit he would
not have fired the physician for the substance abuse incident alone,
showed the deciding official was consciously ignoring agency
regulatory guidance, and discredited the agency’s expert witness.
The DAB overturned the physician’s termination and reinstated him to
his position, giving him his job back and a chance to continue
practicing medicine.