As a licensed nurse working in Pennsylvania, you are aware of the various obligations you have to meet in connection with earning and keeping your license. These include not only providing quality care to patients but also properly maintaining patient records, observing ethical boundaries, making sure you complete the required continuing education, and following the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing's rules and regulations for licensed nurses.
Unlike many other states, licensed nurses in Pennsylvania are required to notify the Board of Nursing when they have been charged with a crime – in addition to having to notify the BON of a conviction. This notification requirement applies to all criminal charges and convictions – including those that may relate to domestic violence. On the other hand, you may not be required to notify the BON if a Protection From Abuse (PFA) order is issued against you. The LLF Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team can help if you are facing either criminal charges or a PFA order in Pennsylvania. Call us at 888.535.3686 or use our contact form to schedule a confidential consultation with one of our experienced attorneys.
Domestic Violence Crimes in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania does not have a specific crime that goes by the name of “domestic violence” or “domestic assault,” as some other states do. A defendant charged with assaulting a family member at home in Pennsylvania will thus face the same type of assault charge as a defendant who assaults a stranger on the street.
That doesn't mean that Pennsylvania ignores domestic violence when it comes to prosecuting people accused of assaulting a family member. Pennsylvania law provides for different procedures in a case where a defendant is accused of committing certain types of crimes against “a family or household member.” The defendant can have all weapons they own seized while their case is pending. They can also face stricter bail terms, and the judge can order the defendant to stay away from the alleged victim, the victim's home, and their workplace.
This can happen where the defendant is accused of any of the following, committed against a “family or household member”:
- Involuntary manslaughter
- Simple or aggravated assault
- Reckless endangerment
- Making “terroristic threats”
- Stalking
- Strangulation
“and can include:
- Spouses or former spouses
- People who live together “as spouses” or who did so in the past
- Parents
- Children
- People related by blood or by marriage
- Current or former “sexual or intimate partners”
- Persons who have a child in common
When it comes to reporting criminal charges or convictions to the BON, however, the way the crime has been categorized by police or prosecutors doesn't matter. The obligation is there, and it applies to any criminal charges that the nurse might face.
Pennsylvania law is clear: a nurse is required to notify the BON “of pending criminal charges within 30 days of the filing of the criminal charges” or when the nurse files their biennial license renewal application, “whichever is sooner.” If you're a nurse facing criminal charges in Pennsylvania – whether or not those charges relate to domestic violence – it's important to make sure you provide the required notification within the 30-day (or sooner) timeframe if you want to avoid facing discipline for failing to make the required report.
The BON does not provide details about how pending criminal charges are to be reported and doesn't state when the BON will take disciplinary action against a nurse based on criminal charges that have not resulted in a conviction, a guilty plea, or a no-contest (nolo contendere) plea. This is where the LLF Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team can help. Our experienced attorneys understand the Pennsylvania BON's disciplinary policies and procedures and can work with you to provide the BON with the information it may need to decide how it will act on your report.
In short, when you report, what you report, and what you include with your report can make a difference in what the BON does with your report. If you're working with one of our attorneys, we can anticipate some of the concerns that the BON might have based on your particular situation and can work to address those concerns and help protect your license and your ability to continue to work.
This is also the case if you have been convicted. Convictions also need to be reported to the BON, and just as with criminal charges, when you report them and what information you include can affect what steps the BON takes as a result. While it's more likely that the BON will open a disciplinary investigation if you report a criminal conviction, that doesn't mean that you will automatically face suspension or have your license revoked because of the conviction. It will depend on the circumstances of your case, and having an attorney by your side who understands the BON disciplinary process and who will fight to protect your license can make all the difference in the outcome.
Protection From Abuse Orders in Pennsylvania
Protection from Abuse (PFA) orders in Pennsylvania are issued by a judge in response to a petition filed by the person asking for protection. They are civil matters, not criminal ones. As a result, if a PFA has been issued against you, there is no need for you to report it to the Pennsylvania Board of Nursing.
PFAs are known in other states as protective orders or orders of protection. They are designed to protect the person who requested the order (and others, such as minor children) from the person against whom the PFA is issued. A PFA petition can be filed by anyone who alleges that the defendant has committed “abuse.”
“Abuse” has a specific meaning when used in connection with a PFA petition. It means one of the following types of acts:
- Attempting to cause or “intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly” causing any one of the following:
- Bodily injury
- Rape
- Involuntary “deviate sexual intercourse”
- Sexual assault
- Indecent assault
- Incest
- Putting someone in “reasonable fear of imminent serious bodily injury”
- Submitting someone to “false imprisonment”
- Physically or sexually abusing minor children
- Repeatedly committing acts that put the victim “in reasonable fear of bodily injury”
When a PFA order is requested, the abuse must take place between family or household members, as that phrase is defined above.
The court can issue a temporary PFA when the plaintiff asking for the PFA alleges “immediate and present danger of abuse. These are called “ex parte” orders and can be issued without the defendant being heard. At some point. However, there will be a hearing to determine whether a permanent PFA should be issued. At that hearing, “the plaintiff must prove the allegation of abuse by a preponderance of the evidence.”
The “preponderance of the evidence” standard is an important one. It is lower than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard that applies in criminal cases and highlights the fact that a PFA case is not a criminal one.
A PFA order can do a number of things. In addition to directing the defendant not to abuse the plaintiff or others named in the PFA order, the PFA order can:
- Prohibit the defendant from contacting the plaintiff
- Prohibit the defendant from entering the plaintiff's workplace or the school attended by the plaintiff or the couple's children.
- Prohibit the defendant from living in the family household and give possession of the household to the plaintiff
- Award the plaintiff temporary custody of any children
- Establish what visitation rights the defendant will have, if any
- Order the defendant to pay financial support to the plaintiff or children named in the PFA order
- Require the defendant to turn over any firearms that the defendant owns or has
- Direct the defendant to pay the plaintiff for “reasonable losses suffered as a result of the abuse,” such as “medical, dental, relocation and moving expenses; counseling; loss of earnings or support;” and costs to repair or replace personal property
- Prohibit the defendant from stalking the plaintiff
- Give the plaintiff temporary ownership over pets
In addition, the PFA Order can grant “any other appropriate relief” that the plaintiff is asking for.
Even though a PFA order does not mean a criminal penalty, if you violate a PFA order, you can be criminally prosecuted for doing so. If convicted, you could be jailed for up to six months and fined up to $1000 – and you would have to report both the charges and the conviction (if you were convicted) to the Board of Nursing.
This is why if you are a nurse and a PFA order is issued against you, it's extremely important that you pay close attention to what it prohibits you from doing and what it requires you to do. The LLF Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team can help you make sure that you understand and follow any PFA order that you receive. In situations where you want to change the terms of the PFA order – even where the plaintiff agrees – you need to get the court to approve the change first. Do not simply ignore what the PFA order says, or you could face criminal contempt charges that could jeopardize your nursing license.
Abuse Allegations, PFA Orders, and Your Nursing License
You can still face a disciplinary investigation from the BON even in situations where you haven't been charged with a crime, but a PFA order has been issued against you. That's because in Pennsylvania, as in all other states, anybody can file a complaint against a nurse with the Board of Nursing for any reason. The plaintiff who filed the petition for the PFA order against you could also file a complaint against you with the BON. A relative or friend of theirs could file the complaint, or a member of the public who believes that you have abused the plaintiff could file it.
Whether the BON takes any action on the complaint depends on what it's alleging. In some cases, the BON will decide that the allegations fall outside of its jurisdiction and will not pursue the matter. In other cases, the allegations may cause the BON to be concerned about the nurse's ability to properly care for patients or for the safety and well-being of patients. In these cases, the BON may open an investigation into the matter.
The same thing can happen when a nurse self-reports criminal charges or criminal convictions. The BON will decide whether the allegations or the conviction warrants opening an investigation. In some cases – particularly where the nurse was convicted of a drug-related felony – the nurse's license may automatically be suspended. In other cases, the consequences to the nurse of the charges or conviction will depend on the facts of the particular situation.
It can be enormously helpful to work with one of the experienced attorneys from the LLF Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team as soon as you learn that the BON has opened an investigation against you. We can protect your rights and defend you against disciplinary proceedings and we will fight to protect your license.
It's also important to understand that if you are facing criminal charges, how you resolve those charges can affect what happens with your nursing license. A plea of “no contest” as part of a plea bargain may be helpful for you in the long term because you will not have a criminal record, but you still must report those pleas to the BON. Many of the experienced attorneys from the LLF Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team also have experience defending clients charged with crimes, and we can help make sure that you keep both your criminal charges and your license disciplinary proceedings in mind when defending you in both cases.
The LLF Law Firm Can Help Protect Your Nursing License in Pennsylvania
Being accused of any crime can be enormously distracting and stressful. When it's a crime that is related to domestic violence, the stress can be even greater, especially if you are also facing a petition for a PFA order. At the LLF Law Firm, our attorneys understand what you're going through. We regularly defend nurses and other licensed professionals who are being investigated for misconduct, and our attorneys also defend clients against all types of criminal charges in courts across the state.
We can help you make sure you meet your obligations as a licensed nurse in Pennsylvania to disclose criminal allegations and convictions and can draft those disclosures in ways that give the BON much of the information it needs to decide how to act on that disclosure. If the BON decides to open disciplinary proceedings against you, we can defend you and your license. We can also defend you against criminal charges. And if a PFA petition is filed against you, our lawyers know how to defend against those as well.
Don't make the mistake of trying to defend yourself when you're facing multiple allegations – criminal, civil, and cases before the Board of Nursing. Contact the LLF Law Firm to learn more about how we can help. Call us today at 888.535.3686 or use our contact form to schedule a confidential consultation. Tell us about your case, and let us tell you how we can protect your rights and defend you.
