In November, 2017, after the Board of Registration in Medicine voted 3-2 to “preliminarily deny” a medical license, the physician hired KCL partner Andrew Hyams.
The Board’s basis for denial was that the physician was a defendant in multiple open and closed medical malpractice lawsuits. One week after he was retained, Mr. Hyams filed a 93 page Motion for Reconsideration. During those seven days, Mr. Hyams:
- Retained an expert from the Harvard Medical School faculty who reviewed all of the malpractice cases and concluded that the license applicant “was well above the level of the average qualified practitioner.”
- Provided new factual information from the physician’s risk managers, showing that the physician was sued less than other physicians in the same peer group.
- Cited caselaw prohibiting the Board from basing a licensing decision on “speculation” that the open malpractice cases “might” result in million dollar verdicts; under the law, an administrative agency’s decision must be “based on fact and not on speculation.”
Six weeks after the “preliminary denial,” the Board reversed itself and voted 5-0 to approve the license.