It’s not easy to become a doctor or a practitioner of any medical field. You have to go through years of school, specialized training, and countless evaluations to get to where you are. For that reason, you want to make sure that you protect your rights as an employee. This is why you have to stand up for yourself if you think you have been wrongfully fired from your position as a medical practitioner. If you suspect that your recent discharge was unlawful, this concise guide will walk you through the process of what legal actions you can take:
Disputes Against the Disciplinary Board
- You should go to the disciplinary board right away if you’re skeptical of the nature of the termination of your employment contract. The people on the board are the ones regulating the workplace standards and rules that are mentioned in the contract, so they are the first people you should talk to in this case. Once you have submitted your forms, the board will appoint a hearing date, which they will debrief you on the violation of the regulations. If you disagree with the initial judgment of the board, you can file for an appeal for the case to be reviewed again with additional evidence. The most common types of punishment the board can give out are suspension, termination, and resignation. Of all of these, the termination of a professional certificate is by far the most damaging one, and it could throw your career off course for years to come. If it’s uncalled for or unjustifiable for the alleged violation, you may be able to build a case to say that it’s a direct attempt to halt your advances in your career. This is the primary stage of your defense, and if the case isn’t settled here, you have the option to take it further down the legal process.
What’s next?
- The next legal actions you can take are filing for arbitration and lawsuit to settle the dispute.
Arbitration
- Arbitration is the process of negotiation through a standing judge, the arbiter, and it’s the preferred method of settling a dispute for many reasons. First of all, the cost of the arbitration process is less expensive, and it’s much more flexible than a lawsuit. You have more control over the process than if you were to go to court, and the process doesn’t have to go on the public record of either party. What’s more is that the arbitration process is done a lot faster than a state or federal court as it involves fewer agents from all parties. The main difference between arbitration and the court is that it’s very difficult to appeal the verdict of the arbitrator, unlike for the court system. However, the verdict is as binding as the court.
Lawsuit
- If you believe that the termination of the contract was illegal in nature, you can file a lawsuit for the associated crime. In most cases, the filing of this nature is based on discrimination laws. You cannot terminate an employment contract based on the employee’s race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and other personality traits that have nothing to do with professional conduct. Discrimination laws are serious matters, and if you’re fighting against an organization such as a hospital, it could be an uphill battle that takes years before it’s settled unless you have clear and binding evidence of the wrongful acts.
Listed below are the common types of evidence that are used in a discrimination case:
(a) Testimonies from advisors, colleagues, and patients as appropriate
(b) Evidence to rebut the employer’s claims against you (emails, video recordings, phone calls recordings, photos, documents, etc.)
(c) Evidence to show that other practitioners with similar performance scores can still maintain the job
(d) Evidence of achieving a high level of performance
Conclusion
Wrongful termination of a contract is a serious matter that has to be handled very swiftly and sternly. As a medical practitioner, you have the right to maintain your job if you haven’t broken the code of conduct. If there’s no good reason why your employer terminated your contract, then it’s possible that it was an unlawful act. As a citizen of a free country, you shouldn’t let the employer get away with treating their staff however they’d like. If you’re facing a disciplinary discharge, you may want to involve a professional attorney in your case. They can represent your interests and stand up for you in the court of law, and they will do their best to settle your case in the most favorable way possible.
Romanosky Law specializes in protecting individuals that have had a wrongful termination. Get in touch with us today to see how we can help.
