Obtained Reversal of Medical Board Decision
Client: A physician’s assistant
The Franklin County Court of Common Pleas reversed a decision of the State Medical Board of Ohio which suspended a physician assistant’s license after she tested positive on a single EtG test, notwithstanding four years of sobriety demonstrated through negative alcohol screens and direct monitoring from multiple physicians and the Ohio Physician’s Health Program. The court found placing primacy reliance on an EtG test is inappropriate and scientifically unsupported at this time, as the EtG test is highly sensitive to even inadvertent, low-level alcohol exposure, which can provide an unreliable result. The court found that the board erred by relying on the EtG test alone and reversed the decision of the board.