(a) Any alleged or suspected violation of the rights described in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 5150) shall be investigated by the local director of mental health, or his or her designee. Violations of Sections 5326.2 to 5326.8, inclusive, concerning patients involuntarily detained for evaluation or treatment under this part, or as a voluntary patient for psychiatric evaluation or treatment to a health facility, as defined in Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code, in which psychiatric evaluation or treatment is offered, shall also be investigated by the Director of Health Care Services, or his or her designee. Violations of Sections 5326.2 to 5326.8, inclusive, concerning persons committed to a state hospital shall also be investigated by the Director of State Hospitals, or his or her designee. If it is determined by the local director of mental health, the Director of Health Care Services, or the Director of State Hospitals that a right has been violated, a formal notice of violation shall be issued.
(b) Either the local director of mental health or the Director of Health Care Services, upon issuing a notice of violation, may take any or all of the following action:
(1) Assign a specified time period during which the violation shall be corrected.
(2) Referral to the Medical Board of California or other professional licensing agency. Such board shall investigate further, if warranted, and shall subject the individual practitioner to any penalty the board finds necessary and is authorized to impose.
(3) Revoke a facility’s designation and authorization under Section 5404 to evaluate and treat persons detained involuntarily.
(4) Refer any violation of law to a local district attorney or the Attorney General for prosecution in any court with jurisdiction.
(c) The Director of State Hospitals, upon issuing a notice of violation, may take any or all of the following actions:
(1) Assign a specified time period during which the violation shall be corrected.
(2) Make a referral to the Medical Board of California or other professional licensing agency. The board or agency shall investigate further, if warranted, and shall subject the individual practitioner to any penalty the board finds necessary and is authorized to impose.
(3) Refer any violation of law to a local district attorney or the Attorney General for prosecution in any court with jurisdiction.
(d) Any physician who intentionally violates Sections 5326.2 to 5326.8, inclusive, shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each violation. The penalty may be assessed and collected in a civil action brought by the Attorney General in a superior court. Such intentional violation shall be grounds for revocation of license.
(e) Any person or facility found to have knowingly violated the provisions of the first paragraph of Section 5325.1 or to have denied without good cause any of the rights specified in Section 5325 shall pay a civil penalty, as determined by the court, of fifty dollars ($50) per day during the time in which the violation is not corrected, commencing on the day on which a notice of violation was issued, not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), for each and every violation, except that any liability under this provision shall be offset by an amount equal to a fine or penalty imposed for the same violation under the provisions of Sections 1423 to 1425, inclusive, or 1428 of the Health and Safety Code. These penalties shall be deposited in the general fund of the county in which the violation occurred. The local district attorney or the Attorney General shall enforce this section in any court with jurisdiction. Where the State Department of Public Health, under the provisions of Sections 1423 to 1425, inclusive, of the Health and Safety Code, determines that no violation has occurred, the provisions of paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) shall not apply.
(f) The remedies provided by this subdivision shall be in addition to and not in substitution for any other remedies which an individual may have under law.
(Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 23, Sec. 35. (AB 82) Effective June 27, 2013.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018