Reporting : Liability

Immunity from Liability and Penalties for Failure to Report and False Reporting  

A medical provider who acts in good faith and without willful misconduct or gross negligence has immunity from any civil or criminal liability when making a report, taking photographs, seeking the removal or keeping of a child pursuant to the state statutes, or making a disclosure to Child Protective Services in compliance with child reporting laws of the state. The privilege or confidentiality of medical records/information is superseded regarding reports of child abuse and maltreatment. For a mandatory reporter to be successfully sued for false reporting in New York, not only must the false nature of the report be proven but the plaintiff also has to prove that the provider engaged in willful misconduct or gross negligence in reporting. Successful suits in this area are virtually non-existent. See NEED LINK

When there is a reasonable degree of medical certainty that the diagnosis is abuse or maltreatment, that diagnosis should be noted in the medical record as the primary medical diagnosis. After the child's safety has been assured, make the family aware of the diagnosis. The parents should not be misled regarding the true nature of the hospital admission or diagnosis.



Mandated reporters who willfully fail to report suspected child abuse or maltreatment will be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. They are also civilly liable for damage proximally caused by failure to report. If they knowingly report false or baseless information regarding an alleged occurrence or condition of child abuse or maltreatment that in fact did not occur or exist, they are guilty of false reporting in the second degree, a Class A misdemeanor.

For more information see the Information Gateway State Statutes Series https://www.childwelfare.gov/resources/states-territories-tribes/state-statutes/.