While Pennsylvania has mandatory reporting requirements for child abuse that cover a wide range of occupations, including educators, health care workers, law enforcement officials, and clergy, its mandatory reporting requirements for elder abuse are narrower. That said, if you are required by Pennsylvania law to report suspected elder abuse and fail to do so, you can face both civil and criminal penalties.
If you have been accused of failing to report suspected abuse of an elderly person in Pennsylvania, or if you've been accused of elder abuse, the LLF Law Firm's Criminal Defense Team can help. Our experienced attorneys understand Pennsylvania's mandatory elder abuse reporting laws and its laws relating to abuse itself and will protect your rights and defend you against the charges you are facing. Call us today at 888.535.3686 or fill out our online contact form to learn more about how the LLF Law Firm can help.
Elder Abuse Law in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania law doesn't use the term “elder abuse” but instead describes a number of different types of “neglect of a care-dependent person” that can result in charges being filed against the person responsible for the neglect. The age of the “care-dependent person” is not a factor when determining whether the person has been abused; the statute instead defines “care-dependent person” very broadly. A care-dependent person under Pennsylvania law is:
- Any adult
- Who, due to physical or cognitive disability or impairment
- Needs help to meet their needs for daily living, including “food, shelter, clothing, personal care or health care.”
In other words, not every elderly person will be considered a “care-dependent person.” Many elderly people live independently and do not require the kinds of help that a “care-dependent person” does. And, of course, not every care-dependent person will be elderly.
Pennsylvania's law prohibiting neglect of a care-dependent person applies to both caregivers (which the law calls “caretakers”) in a professional setting, such as a hospital, nursing home, or adult day care center, and caregivers in a home-care setting. These can include family members who live with the care-dependent person and who either have a legal duty to care for them or who have voluntarily agreed to do so. They can also include family members who don't live with the care-dependent person but who come to the home specifically to care for the person.
There are several broad areas of neglect that are prohibited by the Pennsylvania statute. A caregiver who intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly does any of the following can face penalties if the care-dependent person is injured or dies as a result:
- Failing to provide “treatment, care, goods, or services” necessary to preserve their health
- Using a “physical restraint or chemical restraint or medication” in a way that violates an applicable law or regulation
- Isolating the care-dependent person
In addition, the caregiver can be prosecuted even if the care-dependent person isn't injured, if the caregiver's actions (or failure to act) “endangers the welfare” of the person.
Penalties can range from a second-degree misdemeanor to a first-degree felony, depending on the section of the law that was violated and the extent of the injury to the care-dependent person.
Mandatory Reporting of Elder Abuse in Pennsylvania
While Pennsylvania's law against neglect of a care-dependent person (including an elderly person who needs care) does not include a mandatory reporting requirement, there is a mandatory reporting requirement that is part of Pennsylvania's Older Adults Protective Services Act. This applies to employees and administrators of:
- Nursing homes and other long-term care nursing facilities
- Home healthcare agencies
- Older adult day-care centers
- Smaller care homes, called “domiciliary care homes”
- Personal care homes
It imposes a mandatory reporting requirement on both administrators and employees of these facilities who suspect that anyone being cared for at the facility has been abused. “Abuse” is defined to include:
- Infliction of injury
- Unreasonable confinement
- Intimidation or punishment that causes physical harm, pain, or “mental anguish”
- Willfully depriving the person of goods or services needed to maintain their physical or mental health.
- Sexual abuse
Any employee or administrator with “reasonable cause to suspect” that a person being cared for at the facility has been abused is required to “immediately” make an oral report to the agency that is responsible for providing protective services in their area. Within 48 hours of making that oral report, the employee or administrator must also file a written report to the same agency.
In addition, if the employee or administrator has “reasonable cause to suspect” that the individual has been sexually abused or that abuse cause serious physical injury or death, they must also “immediately” contact local law enforcement and report the suspected abuse. They must also follow up with a written report to law enforcement, again within 48 hours.
There is specific information that must be included in the written reports:
- Name, age, and address of the person who may have been the victim of abuse
- Name and address of the person's guardian or next of kin
- Name and address of the care facility where the person was at the time of the suspected abuse
- Information about the “nature of the alleged offense”
- Any other “specific comments or observations that are directly related” to the suspected abuse
After a report of suspected abuse has been made to law enforcement, the law requires them to investigate the matter and to determine whether criminal charges should be filed. The police are also required to cooperate with the protective services agency.
Penalties for Failing to Make a Mandatory Abuse Report
Pennsylvania law provides for both civil and criminal penalties for facilities, administrators, and employees who fail to follow its mandatory reporting requirements. Facilities, their owners, and their administrators can face fines if they don't comply with the reporting requirements, if they obstruct an employee from following the requirements, or if they retaliate against an employee who makes a report of suspected abuse.
Administrators and employees can also face criminal charges. An administrator or owner who intentionally fails to make a report or attempts to obstruct an employee from doing so can be convicted of a third-degree misdemeanor. That could result in a sentence of up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2500. In addition, anyone who fails to make a mandatory abuse report can be convicted of a summary offense and end up spending up to 90 days in jail and paying a fine of up to $300. If it's their second (or additional) offense, they can be convicted of a third-degree misdemeanor.
Licensing Consequences for Failing to Report Elder Abuse
If you're a licensed caregiver at an elder care facility and you fail to report suspected elder abuse, or if someone else files a report claiming that you abused someone who is being cared for by your facility, you could face more than an investigation by your local elder care agency and law enforcement. You could face the suspension or loss of your professional license.
Whether you hold a professional license as a registered or practical nurse, nursing home administrator, occupational therapist, physical therapist, psychologist, or physician, an allegation that you have been responsible for the abuse of a patient – or have failed to report suspected abuse – can lead to a long, intrusive, and difficult investigation and disciplinary process. The consequences for your license can range from private warnings to public reprimands, to probation, to suspension, and even revocation of your license to practice.
License discipline will be separate from any criminal investigation or investigation by the local Department of Aging and can compound the stress and difficulty of having to work while under a cloud of suspicion. With your career at stake, in addition to the possibility of being convicted for failing to report or commit elder abuse, you need the help of an experienced attorney. At the LLF Law Firm, our experienced attorneys understand Pennsylvania's criminal laws as well as the laws and procedures that relate to professional license misconduct investigations and discipline.
When you are facing these kinds of multiple investigations, it's important to have someone on your side who can protect your rights in each case. Your experienced attorney from the LLF Law Firm will help to make sure that you don't inadvertently cause yourself harm in one case by something that is said or done in another.
Protection From Abuse Orders in Elder Care Abuse Cases
If you are caring for an elderly relative at home, whether you live with them or are coming to their home to care for them on a regular basis, an abuse allegation can lead to you facing a Protection From Abuse order (PFA) from a local court. If you live with the person, a PFA order can be a nightmare – you may be forced to leave your home and avoid any number of other places identified in the order where the person regularly spends time. Even if you live elsewhere, the PFA order can prevent you from visiting others in your family who may live with the elderly person on whose behalf the PFA order request was filed.
The last thing you want to do if a PFA order is issued by a court against you is to violate it. The PFA is a court order, and violation can lead to serious consequences – including civil and criminal penalties. The best way to respond to an overly restrictive PFA order is to ask the judge who issued it to either cancel completely or amend it to make it less restrictive. This is best done with the help of an experienced attorney who understands the concerns that judges will have when making decisions about PFA orders and who can file and argue the motion on your behalf. The LLF Law Firm's Criminal Defense Team understands the ins and outs of PFA orders in Pennsylvania, and we can help you if you've been targeted by one.
Again, if you're facing a PFA order as a result of an elder abuse allegation, you begin by complying with it, and then you contact the LLF Law Firm for help. Violating it will only make a difficult situation even worse.
The LLF Law Firm Can Help Protect You Against Elder Abuse Allegations
Elder abuse is a serious problem all across Pennsylvania and the United States. Courts, prosecutors, state and local health care agencies, and professional licensing boards are all teaming up to help fight it. But when serious allegations of elder abuse are made, people can often make mistakes in their rush to protect the alleged victim. Those mistakes can include ignoring the rights of the person who's been accused. This is where the LLF Law Firm's Criminal Defense Team can help.
Whether you're facing accusations that you've failed to report elder abuse, that you've tried to obstruct an employee from making an elder abuse report, or that you've committed elder abuse yourself, you need the help of an experienced criminal defense attorney to protect your rights and defend you against any criminal charges that may result. If you're also facing professional discipline, you need an attorney who understands the code of conduct you're expected to follow in your profession, the investigation and disciplinary standards and procedures that your licensing board uses, and how to protect you through all of the stages.
The LLF Law Firm has experienced criminal defense attorneys who have helped clients all across Pennsylvania face a wide range of criminal charges. Our lawyers have also helped people who have had PFA orders issued against them. And we regularly represent clients with professional licenses who have been accused of misconduct. If you're facing any or all of these difficult situations, contact us today. We can be reached by phone at 888.535.3686, or you can schedule a confidential consultation with one of our experienced attorneys by filling out our contact form.
You have rights if you've been accused of failing to report elder abuse or of committing it yourself. Let the LLF Law Firm help you protect those rights and defend against the accusations.
