According to the California Board of Registered Nursing, there were 4374 RNs with convictions reported to the BRN in 2016; my guess is that most of those were Registered Nurses with DUI. We represented many of them and here are 3 examples of the outcomes of their cases.
Registered Nurses with DUI # 1
In 2015, our client was arrested for a DUI with a blood alcohol level of .21%. This is relatively high and typically any BAC over .18% means that the BRN is going to attempt to revoke or suspend the nurse’s RN license. This client did not hire us for her DUI representation, she used another DUI attorney. Because she used an attorney who was not familiar with representing RNs, she wasn’t advised that she was required to disclose the conviction within 30 days, so she failed to do so. In 2016, she received an Accusation from the BRN calling for the revocation of her nursing license with an enhancement of unprofessional conduct for failing to disclose properly.
At this point the client was in a justifiable panic. She had 15 days to find an attorney to help her save her license and her RN career and file her notice of defense with the BRN. Luckily, she found RN Guardian and I assigned her case to Nicole Valentine, Esq. Nicole took the case to a Hearing before an Administrative Law Judge and the Judge agreed that based on the evidence presented, our client was not a risk of reoccurrence and was granted a Letter of Public Reprimand as her discipline. You can read this client’s review of her experience here. https://www.avvo.com/attorneys/95670-ca-nicole-valentine-108431.html “So Grateful”
Registered Nurses with DUI # 2
This nurse was arrested for a DUI and based on the 2 breathalyzer results, had a blood alcohol content of .13% and .15%. While searching for a DUI lawyer and wondering how the DUI was going to impact her RN license, she stumbled upon RN Guardian’s website and called us for more information. I explained to her that her BAC was in the “Window of Opportunity” for a wet and reckless conviction and how critical this would be for her as a registered nurse to get this result. She spoke to a number of other of DUI lawyers, none of whom had any idea about how this would impact her career as a RN and eventually retained RN Guardian panel attorney, Nicole Valentine.
Nicole was successful in reducing the conviction from a DUI to a Wet and Reckless. Upon completion of the DUI case, Nicole properly disclosed the conviction to the BRN and our client was issued a Citation and Fine as discipline from the BRN. The client’s career and license is safe. You can read this client’s review of her experience here https://www.avvo.com/attorneys/95670-ca-nicole-valentine-108431/reviews.html “Saved My License”
Registered Nurses with DUI # 3
This client retained after a conviction for a California DUI with a BAC of .18% He was a nurse anesthetist and had been offered an incredible opportunity to work in another state, but the DUI was causing problems because it was showing up in his background check. The employer was reluctant to hire him because they were concerned about the status of his RN license in California and knew that most RN’s with DUI convictions are placed on probation by the CA BRN.
Jonathan reached out to RN Guardian and I spent a lot of time explaining the potential outcomes for his case. He was assigned to panel attorney, Nicole Valentine, who moved as quickly as possible, expedited the case and was successful in getting Jonathan a Letter of Public Reprimand in record time. Jonathan was able to accept the position and has his dream job! You can read Jonathan’s review of his experience here. https://www.avvo.com/attorneys/95670-ca-nicole-valentine-108431.html “A Compassionate Lawyer”
Registered Nurses with DUI # 4
Half of the complaints received by the RNs from BRN stem from criminal convictions. We assume, based on our cases, that about 75% of those are from DUIs or 3280 nurses with a DUI per year. We know that 15% of the complaints received by the BRN result in an accusation and that number is probably double for convictions, so almost 1000 nurses have accusations filed for DUIs every year. In 2016, 649 Registered Nurses in California had their RN license revoked, surrendered or suspended and I would venture that many of those were the result of a DUI conviction.
Would you be interested in knowing RN Guardian’s statistic of revoked, surrendered or suspended licenses for a DUI? It’s zero. 0%. In the thousands of Registered Nurses with DUI cases that we have handled over the last decade, we have NEVER had a nurse lose their license or have their RN license suspended for a DUI, not once.
You can muddle around with a DUI attorney who can probably handle the DUI, try to negotiate the BRN’s disclosure deadlines and respond the Accusation yourself or hire another attorney to do that part. You may luck out, or you may end up in the same boat as the 649 nurses who lost their RN licenses in 2016. Or you can call us and we can virtually guarantee your license will be safe because we have successfully saved thousands of licenses in cases just like yours. If you are a registered nurse with a recent DUI, please give us a call. We have a verified track record of 98% RN license retention for DUI convictions. The earlier you get us involved, the better your chances at the least level of BRN discipline. Our legal representation and the reviews of our attorney’s work speak for themselves.