In a case where Medical Board revocation of a physician’s license seemed a foregone conclusion, Nelson Hardiman lawyer and partner, Harry Nelson, secured a career-saving probation.
At the outset, the physician, an oncologist, was accused of serious misconduct. The physician had been convicted by the DEA of multiple felonies resulting from importation of unapproved drugs in violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and federal prescription drug laws. The Medical Board threatened to revoke his license. However, Nelson Hardiman’s tenacious defense succeeded in limiting the Board to a five-year probation that enabled the doctor to continue practicing medicine.
Nelson Hardiman overcame the Board’s argument that the physician was a smuggler and related allegations of unprofessional conduct by presenting evidence that the doctor brought low-cost cancer drug–with the same chemical composition as those approved by the FDA–from abroad solely to provide to patients who lacked insurance and could not afford their expensive American counterpart drugs. By highlighting the altruistic motives of a doctor who did not comprehend FDA requirements, Nelson Hardiman averted the medical license revocation of a physician who had dedicated a lifetime of service to his profession without regard to patients’ ability to pay. As a result, this dedicated physician continues to provide medical services to the uninsured and other patients in his community.