Fenton Jurkowitz Law Group successfully defended a client, who is the Chief of Medical Staff of a Hospital and Hospital District, in a case seeking to impose fines for not reporting sanctions to the Medical Board that were imposed upon a physician under the Chief of Staff’s authority. The sanctions imposed on the physician under the Chief of Staff’s domain stemmed from various violations. Notably, this was the first case in which the California Medical Board sought to penalize a Chief of Staff, and in effect a Hospital and Hospital District, for not reporting such sanctions. After a two day evidentiary hearing in San Diego, the Administrative Law Judge found that the sanctioned physician was disciplined for reasons unrelated to medical safety or quality of care, not a medical disciplinary cause or reason, and dismissed the Notification of Violation and Imposition of Fine. The proposed decision was adopted by the California Medical Board in a decision effective December 18, 2018.
