State Board of Chiropractic Examiners
Chiropractor License Defense
Each year, the Board receives hundreds of complaints, including written complaints from the public, other licensees, professional groups, and governmental agencies. If you’re a chiropractor facing a board investigation or disciplinary proceeding, our attorneys have the experience and resources to provide you with expert representation.
Complaints and investigations
The following represent some common allegations chiropractors face:
- Fraudulent, negligent, or incompetent practice
- Sexual misconduct
- Deceptive or misleading advertising
- Unlicensed practice
- Criminal convictions
- Practicing medicine without a license
Upon receiving a complaint, the board reviews and investigates the allegation. Actions the board may take include closing the case, issuing a citation or lesser form of discipline, or referring the matter to the California Office of the Attorney General for formal disciplinary proceedings. The attorney general may file an accusation or, in the case of an applicant, a statement of issues, which initiates a formal hearing process under the California Administrative Procedures Act. In addition to license discipline, the board will seek to recover all investigative and prosecution costs.
While each situation is unique, it is generally wise to engage counsel before responding to a board investigator or a request for information. Answering questions, providing documents or evidence, or agreeing to other actions without counsel can be risky. As the holder of a professional license, you have important statutory and constitutional rights and immediately seeking advice from an attorney experienced in healthcare licensing helps protect your reputation and career.
How we can help
Our experienced attorneys will work closely with you to close an investigation without discipline or minimize the discipline that may eventually be imposed. In many cases, we can assist in negotiating an agreed resolution with the board’s counsel without a hearing. We can also aggressively defend you at a contested hearing.
If you are facing criminal prosecution, you should know and understand the consequences that a guilty or no contest plea and a conviction can have on your license. A conviction that results from an incident outside of your professional work that appears to have no correlation with your chiropractic practice may still have a significant impact on your license.
Whether you have been wrongfully accused of misconduct or have made an uncharacteristic mistake, our attorneys offer the experience, expertise, and resources to aggressively defend you before the board. We will listen, offer advice, and develop a plan to obtain the best result possible.
More information:
Board of Chiropractic Examiners
Verify the status of a chiropractic license
Board of Chiropractic Examiners Disciplinary Guidelines
Enforcement Statistics (pp. 43-46)
Chiropractic Rules and Regulations