W. Va. Code R. § 29-4-5 - Disposition of Complaints

5.1. Any person, firm, corporation, member of the Board, or public officer may make a complaint to the Board which charges a speech-language pathologist, audiologist, provisional licensee or assistant with a violation of W.Va. Code § 30-32-1 et seq. or of the rules of the Board. The Board may provide a form for that purpose, but a complaint may be filed in any written form. In addition to describing the alleged violation which prompted the complaint, the complaint should contain the following:

5.1.1. The name and address of the speech-language pathologist, audiologist, provisional licensee or assistant against whom the complaint is lodged;

5.1.2. The date of care;

5.1.3. The name of any person who may have treated the patient after the alleged incident; and,

5.1.4. The name of any health care institution or health care provider in which the patient was an inpatient or outpatient after or during the alleged incident.

5.2. A complaint against a speech-language pathologist, audiologist, provisional licensee or assistant shall allege that such person has been convicted of a felony or is, in his or her professional capacity, engaging in conduct, practices or acts constituting professional negligence or a willful departure from accepted standards of professional conduct in violation of W. Va.Code §30-32-1 et seq. or the rules of the Board.

5.3. Complainants are immune from liability for the allegations contained in their complaints filed with the Board unless the complaint is filed in bad faith or for a malicious purpose.

5.4. The Board shall maintain a complaint log which records the receipt of each complaint, its nature and its disposition.

5.5. The Board shall maintain a separate file on each complaint received, and each file shall have a number assigned to it.

5.6. Upon receipt of a complaint, the Board shall issue one of the following acknowledgments to the complainant:

5.6.1. That the matter will be reviewed by the Board;

5.6.2. That the complaint is outside the jurisdiction of the Board, with suggestions as to how the complainant might best obtain a resolution of his or her problem; or,

5.6.3. That more information will be required in order to adequately review the individual complaint.

5.7. The Board shall send a copy of the complaint, including any supporting documentation, by certified mail to the licensee, assistant or applicant in question for his or her written comment, and he or she shall submit a written response to the Board within 30 days of the date of such correspondence, or waive the right to do so.

5.8. Requests for comment on complaints sent to licensees, assistants or applicants shall be considered properly served when sent to their last known address. It is the responsibility of the licensee, assistant or applicants to keep the Board informed of his or her current address.

5.9. Upon receipt of a licensees' or applicants' comments in response to a complaint, the Board shall promptly send a copy of the same, including any supporting documentation, to the complainant.

5.10. After receipt and review of a complaint, unless the complaint is determined to fall within the provisions of subdivision 5.6.2 of this rule, the Board shall cause to be conducted any reasonable inquiry or investigation it considers necessary to determine the truth and the validity of the allegations set forth in the complaint. The review of complaints and any view or investigation thereof may, at the discretion of the Board, be assigned to a committee of the Board.

5.11. At any point in its investigation of a complaint the Board may, at its discretion, assign the matter to an ethics investigator for review and investigation.

5.12. Upon receipt of a complaint the ethics investigator shall, within 60 days, review and investigate the same and provide the Board with a report. The report shall contain a statement of the allegations, a statement of facts, and an analysis of the complaint including a description of the care provided, the records reviewed and a statement of the ethics investigator's findings and recommendations. The ethics investigator shall, upon request, be afforded an opportunity to have an investigation interview with the licensee, assistant or applicant in question or other involved parties, a report of which shall be placed in the investigation file.

5.13. To facilitate the disposition of a complaint, the Board or the committee may request any person to attend an informal conference, or to appear at a regular meeting of the Board, at any time prior to the Board entering any order with respect to the complaint. The Board or the committee shall give notice of the conference, which notice shall include a statement of issues to be informally discussed. Statements made at a conference may not be introduced at any subsequent hearing on the merits without the consent of all parties to the hearing. No prejudice shall attach for failure to attend a conference pursuant to a request.

5.14. The Board members, Board president, executive director, the investigating committee or chairperson may issue subpoenas and subpoenas ducestecum to complete the Board's investigation and to determine the truth or validity of complaints. The ethics investigator may request a subpoena or subpoena ducestecum be issued by the Board. Any such request shall be accompanied by a brief statement specifying the necessity for the same.

5.15. At any point in the course of an investigation or inquiry into a complaint, the Board may determine that there is not and will not be sufficient evidence to warrant further proceedings, or that the complaint fails to allege misconduct for which a speech pathologist, audiologist, provisional licensee or assistant may be sanctioned by the Board: Provided, that in the event the review and investigation of a complaint is assigned to the committee or an ethics investigator, the committee or ethics investigator shall make their respective findings and recommendations to the Board prior to the Board dismissing the complaint.

Notes

W. Va. Code R. § 29-4-5