The Missouri Supreme Court has upheld the suspension of a Northland physician’s license for having sex with an underage patient.
Dr. Blake Henry Donaldson, who operated the Primary Care North clinic in Parkville, had argued he was denied due process when his license was suspended on an emergency basis in December 2017.
But in a unanimous decision today, the court found that his suspension was justified under the law.
The court’s ruling is significant because Donaldson had challenged the constitutionality of the law allowing the state’s medical disciplinary board to suspend a physician’s license on an emergency basis.
In this case, the board suspended Donaldson’s license after finding he had sex with a 16-year-old male patient. It said he continued to have sex with him after he turned 17. Although 17 is the age of legal consent in Missouri, the board found his conduct was still unethical.
Donaldson also argued that the hearing tribunal wrongly drew an adverse inference from his invocation of his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. But the court rejected that argument as well.
In addition, he claimed that the emergency suspension of his license was arbitrary because there was no active emergency at the time. The court ruled that the statute does not require that.
Neither Donaldson nor his attorney could be reached for comment.
Before his suspension, Donaldson had practiced as an osteopathic physician and surgeon since 1995.
