Florida Statutes

Fla. Stat. § 415.1034 (2025)

Mandatory reporting of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of vulnerable adults; mandatory reports of death.

✓ 2025 Florida Statutes — current through the 2025 Regular Session

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415.1034 Mandatory reporting of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of vulnerable adults; mandatory reports of death.—

(1) MANDATORY REPORTING.—

(a) Any person, including, but not limited to, any:

1. Physician, osteopathic physician, medical examiner, chiropractic physician, nurse, paramedic, emergency medical technician, or hospital personnel engaged in the admission, examination, care, or treatment of vulnerable adults;

2. Health professional or mental health professional other than one listed in subparagraph 1.;

3. Practitioner who relies solely on spiritual means for healing;

4. Nursing home staff; assisted living facility staff; adult day care center staff; adult family-care home staff; social worker; or other professional adult care, residential, or institutional staff;

5. State, county, or municipal criminal justice employee or law enforcement officer;

6. Employee of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation conducting inspections of public lodging establishments under s. 509.032;

7. Florida advocacy council or Disability Rights Florida member or a representative of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program;

8. Bank, savings and loan, or credit union officer, trustee, or employee; or

9. Dealer, investment adviser, or associated person under chapter 517,

who knows, or has reasonable cause to suspect, that a vulnerable adult has been or is being abused, neglected, or exploited must immediately report such knowledge or suspicion to the central abuse hotline.

(b) To the extent possible, a report made pursuant to paragraph (a) must contain, but need not be limited to, the following information:

1. Name, age, race, sex, physical description, and location of each victim alleged to have been abused, neglected, or exploited.

2. Names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the victim’s family members.

3. Name, address, and telephone number of each alleged perpetrator.

4. Name, address, and telephone number of the caregiver of the victim, if different from the alleged perpetrator.

5. Name, address, and telephone number of the person reporting the alleged abuse, neglect, or exploitation.

6. Description of the physical or psychological injuries sustained.

7. Actions taken by the reporter, if any, such as notification of the criminal justice agency.

8. Any other information available to the reporting person which may establish the cause of abuse, neglect, or exploitation that occurred or is occurring.

(2) MANDATORY REPORTS OF DEATH.—Any person who is required to investigate reports of abuse, neglect, or exploitation and who has reasonable cause to suspect that a vulnerable adult died as a result of abuse, neglect, or exploitation shall immediately report the suspicion to the appropriate medical examiner, to the appropriate criminal justice agency, and to the department, notwithstanding the existence of a death certificate signed by a practicing physician. The medical examiner shall accept the report for investigation pursuant to s. 406.11 and shall report the findings of the investigation, in writing, to the appropriate local criminal justice agency, the appropriate state attorney, and the department. Autopsy reports maintained by the medical examiner are not subject to the confidentiality requirements provided for in s. 415.107.

History.—s. 96, ch. 95-418; s. 10, ch. 97-98; s. 42, ch. 97-264; s. 256, ch. 98-166; s. 21, ch. 2000-263; s. 2, ch. 2000-318; s. 28, ch. 2000-349; s. 29, ch. 2015-31; s. 1, ch. 2020-157.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 6 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1998–2023 · leading case: Cornelius Martin, II v. Michael Wood, 648 F. App'x 911 (11th Cir. 2016).

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Cornelius Martin, II v. Michael Wood, 648 F. App'x 911 (11th Cir. 2016). · cites it 2× “Second, he alleged that because Sheriff Wood violated the APSA, Fla. Stat. §§ 415.1034 (l)(a)(5), 415.111, 415.”

Est. of Murray Ex Rel. Murray v. Delta Health Grp., Inc., 30 So. 3d 576 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010). · cites it 2× “Murray had been neglected, he would have reported so as required of him by section 415.1034(l)(a), Florida Statutes (2002).”

Mora v. South Broward Hosp. Dist., 710 So. 2d 633 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998). · cites it 2× “§ 415.1034, Fla. Stat. (1995). Plaintiff claims that the staff's failure to report abuse, as required under the act, gave *634 rise to a civil cause of action against the hospital.”

State v. Carter, 177 So. 3d 1028 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015). · cites it 4× “These mandatory reporting requirements necessitate communication between medical personnel — often the first to learn of abuse — and law enforcement officers, who depend on the public for information.”

Bahmann v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (M.D. Fla. 2023). · cites it 2× “§ 415.1034(1)(a). The Act defines “vulnerable adult” as “a person 18 years of age or older whose ability to perform the normal activities of daily living or to provide for his or her own care or protection is impaired due to a mental, emotional, sensory, long-term physical, or…”

Specialty Hosp.-Gainesville, Inc. v. Charles Barth (Fla. 1st DCA 2019). “103(1), Florida Statutes, regarding the “Central Abuse Hotline”: “The department shall establish and maintain a central abuse hotline that receives all reports made pursuant to section 415.1034 in writing or through a statewide toll-free 10 telephone number.”

— 415.1034(1)(a) — 1 case

Bahmann v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (M.D. Fla. 2023). “§ 415.1034(1)(a). The Act defines “vulnerable adult” as “a person 18 years of age or older whose ability to perform the normal activities of daily living or to provide for his or her own care or protection is impaired due to a mental, emotional, sensory, long-term physical, or…”

— 415.1034(l)(a) — 1 case

Est. of Murray Ex Rel. Murray v. Delta Health Grp., Inc., 30 So. 3d 576 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010). “Murray had been neglected, he would have reported so as required of him by section 415.1034(l)(a), Florida Statutes (2002).”

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