A professional license is not easy to get. It requires the investment of a considerable amount of both time and money. That’s why it can be a terrifying experience for someone with a professional license to be charged with a drunk driving (DUI / OVWI) offense. This is especially true for nurses.
When a nurse gets a DUI / OVWI, there are consequences on at least two fronts—there are the obvious legal implications of the criminal case, but there are also serious professional considerations. Both the Courts and the State Board of Nursing operate according to complex procedures, and trying to navigate them both simultaneously can be a nightmare. On the one hand, the Indiana State Board of Nursing Administrative Code appears to require nurses to report impairment, but a pending criminal charge always refers to an alleged offense. How do you reconcile the professional duty to report with the legal presumption of innocence?
Luckily, Indiana nurses who find themselves in this situation have the option of calling Attorney Marc Lopez. Attorney Lopez has helped a number of licensed professionals facing DUI / OVWI and drug charges, and he knows from experience what a nurse needs to do at the beginning, middle and end of the case in order to maximize the chances of success. In almost all cases, one of the primary goals is to minimize the potential damage to the nurse’s professional standing.
Please don’t make the mistake of assuming that your professional license in Indiana (nursing or otherwise) won’t be affected by DUI / OVWI or drug charge. Nothing could be further from the truth. Feel free to contact Attorney Marc Lopez today at 317-632-3642, or by email, if you would like to discuss how a DUI / OVWI charge will affect your nursing license.
