CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling in connection with disciplinary actions against a Beckley psychiatrist.
In an opinion handed down Friday, the Court agreed with a July 2018 decision from a Kanawha Count circuit judge backing a previous decision from the West Virginia Board of Medicine in the case of Dr. Omar Hasan.
The board found Hasan had an improper relationship with a female patient that began in 2011. She reported the activity to the Board of Medicine in 2014. The relationship included 4,000 text messages and sexual encounters. The woman said she tried to take her own life after Hasan ended the relationship.
A 2017 ruling by a hearing examiner called for a fine and public reprimand against Hasan along with a three-year probationary period connected to his license to practice medicine. The Board of medicine changed the recommendation and suspended Hasan’s license for a year along with other stiffer requirements.
Hasan appealed the board’s decision.
The High Court agreed the Board of Medicine made several misstatements in its decision to change the recommendations but the Court ruled it wasn’t enough to prejudice Hasan.
“After considering the entire record, I agree with the majority’s conclusion that the Board has adequately justified its decision with reasoned, evidence-based explanations,” Justice John Hutchison wrote in a concurring opinion.