By Ken Fulginiti, Fulginiti Law
A family calls after reading the news.
A caretaker at a nursing home or other care facility has been arrested. The district attorney has announced criminal charges. The allegations are serious.
The first question is almost always the same.
“Can we sue the facility?”
Most people assume the answer is yes. If prosecutors believe there is enough evidence to bring felony charges against the individual responsible, surely the institution that hired, supervised, and trusted that person can also be held accountable.
Unfortunately, it is not always that simple.
In Pennsylvania, a criminal case against an individual and a civil case against the institution are governed by different laws. The strength of one does not necessarily determine the strength of the other.
Two questions often matter more than families expect:
Who operated the facility?
What did the facility know, or should have known?
Those answers can shape almost everything that follows.
Criminal Responsibility and Civil Responsibility Are Different
Pennsylvania recognizes that adults living in institutional settings can be uniquely vulnerable.
Whether someone is living in a nursing home, receiving psychiatric treatment, boarding in a school or camp, incarcerated in a correctional facility, or dependent on a caretaker for daily needs, there is often an enormous imbalance of power.
That is why Pennsylvania law makes it a crime for certain people in positions of authority to engage in sexual conduct with those in their care. The law also recognizes an important reality: someone who depends on another person for medication, housing, transportation, or basic daily care may not be in a position to give legal consent.
That criminal case, however, is only part of the picture.
The question families usually want answered is different.
Can the institution itself be held responsible?
The First Question Is Often Who Owned/Managed the Facility
Many people assume the first thing a lawyer wants to know is exactly what happened.
Of course that matters.
But one of the very first legal questions is often much simpler:
Who operated the facility?
That single fact can dramatically change the legal analysis.
There may be claims involving negligent hiring, supervision, retention, staffing, or other failures that allowed the abuse to occur.
If the facility is operated by a government entity, there may be civil rights or other type claims.
Also, who owned the facility may not be who operated the facility or employed those interacting with the residents. These are often separate entities, and each must be identified to bring an action against all potentially culpable entities.
One of the first things we do is determine exactly who owned and operated the institution.
Time is of the Essence
Families often assume that because a criminal investigation is just beginning, there is still plenty of time to consider a civil lawsuit.
That assumption can be dangerous.
Criminal cases and civil cases operate on different timelines.
A criminal prosecution may be filed later, and then move quickly, while a civil claim may have to be investigated and filed much sooner.
Pennsylvania’s deadlines for many adult survivors can vary, especially when the person abused is care dependent, and sometimes noncommunicative. Families may pick up on changes in behavior or other signs, not knowing directly what happened.
The important point is this:
Do not waste time or think that your civil deadline is protected.
The Institution’s Own Records May or May Not Tell the Story
When people think about these cases, they naturally focus on the person accused of committing the abuse.
We do too.
But a case against the institution usually asks a different question.
What did the institution know before this happened, or, equally as importantly, what should they have known?
Were there earlier complaints?
Were warning signs ignored?
Did supervisors investigate concerns?
Was an employee quietly transferred instead of removed?
Were there staffing problems that left vulnerable residents unprotected?
What training was provided?
Was there pre-hiring evaluation of the individual’s background?
While there are hundreds more questions that would be asked during litigation, answers to these and other questions may be found by requesting records that families have never seen.
They can make the difference in establishing there was a problem and opportunities to prevent abuse.
That is one reason it is important to begin investigating as early as possible. Records disappear. Witnesses move on. Memories fade.
If You Are Calling About a Parent or Loved One
Many of the people who contact our office are not calling about themselves.
They are calling because a parent, spouse, sibling, or another loved one was abused while living in a care facility.
That is entirely understandable.
The legal claim generally belongs to the person who was harmed, but there may be ways for family members or legal representatives to help protect that person’s rights.
You do not need to have every answer before making the call.
Bring whatever information you have—admission paperwork, correspondence from the facility, police information, or anything else you think may be relevant.
We can help determine next steps.
Every Case Begins With a Conversation
Adult institutional-abuse cases are rarely as straightforward as people expect.
Even if the criminal charges may be clear, the civil case may not be.
The ownership and operation of the facility, the applicable deadlines, and the institution’s own records can all make an enormous difference, among many other issues.
If you or someone you love has experienced physical, emotional and/or sexual abuse in a Pennsylvania nursing home, hospital, correctional institution, boarding school, treatment facility, or another care setting, it is worth finding out where you stand before making assumptions about your rights—or about whether it is already too late.
Every conversation with Fulginiti Law is confidential, and there is no cost to speak with us.
Call (215) 602-4204 or contact us through our website.
Fulginiti Law
One Commerce Square
2005 Market Street, Suite 3710
Philadelphia, PA 19103
