Tate v. State of Nev. Board of Medical Examiners – Sept. 2015 (Summary

PHYSICIAN LICENSURE

Tate v. State of Nev. Board of Medical Examiners, No. 65460 (Nev. Sept. 10, 2015)

A physician who showed up to perform surgery after drinking on his lunch break was reprimanded by his employer. The physician was also reported to the Nevada State Board of Medicine. The Board found that the physician violated state law by rendering services to a patient while in an impaired condition. The Board suspended the physician’s license for six months, issued a public reprimand, ordered him to complete an alcohol diversion program and to pay investigation and prosecution costs and a fine.

The physician petitioned for judicial review of the Board’s decision. He also requested an injunction to stay the effect of the Board’s order and to prevent the State Board from filing a data bank report while the judicial review was pending. The trial court held that while an injunction was warranted, a state law precluded it from issuing an injunction pending a final determination by the court.

The physician appealed, claiming the law that prohibited the stay violates the separation of powers doctrine. The Supreme Court of Nevada agreed, finding that the state law prohibiting a stay was unconstitutional. The court reasoned that if the lower court could not issue a stay, then the physician may be irreparably penalized prior to the court being able to review the Board’s decision. In addition, the Nevada Supreme Court considered the fact that without a stay, the Board was required to report the physician to the National Practitioner Data Bank prior to the court completing its judicial review of the Board’s investigation. The Nevada Supreme Court ruled that the Physician should be granted injunctive relief in order to allow the court sufficient time to review the Board’s decision.