Opinion ID: 867568
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Interplay between civil and criminal actions under APSA

Text: ¶ 23 Defendants argue that if an act of medical negligence is encompassed within the scope of the APSA statutes, doctors who have committed nothing more than medical malpractice may be charged with felonies under A.R.S. § 46-455(A), which states that a care provider who causes or permits the life of the [incapacitated] adult to be endangered or his health to be injured or endangered by neglect is guilty of a class 5 felony. (Emphasis added.) Thus, we believe the fears of Defendants and amici are misplaced. Civil actions may be maintained for neglect or abuse. Abuse, but not neglect, includes negligent acts or omissions. Cf. A.R.S. § 46-451(A)(1)(b) and A.R.S. § 46-451(A)(7). APSA's felony provisions therefore do not apply to cases of abuse but only to neglect cases, which require a pattern of conduct. A.R.S. § 46-451(A)(7). This case, of course, does not involve criminal prosecution under A.R.S. § 46-455(A); nor do the facts require us to determine what may constitute a pattern of conduct sufficient to meet criminal standards.