Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 3, March 20, 2025
A.
Purpose and Standard of Proof. The purpose of the investigation is to determine
if the allegation of abuse, neglect or other unusual occurrence can be
substantiated by a fair preponderance of the credible evidence. That means that
based upon a review of the believable evidence, an incident is more likely than
not to have either occurred or not occurred. The investigator is to determine
whether or not an incident occurred, even if the investigator cannot determine
the cause or perpetrator of the incident. All investigations must use the
standard form entitled Investigation Report.
B. Content of Investigation
1. Each investigation shall contain:
a. a summary description of any allegations,
including the name and job title (or address) of the person making the
allegation;
b. a summary of any
injuries or other harm to the class member;
c. summaries or verbatim transcripts of any
statements made by witnesses;
d. an
evaluation by the investigator of the credibility of any witnesses, including
any reasons for conclusions about the witnesses' credibility (e.g. personal
involvement, bias);
e. a summary of
any statements made by experts concerning their opinions as to the cause of any
incident (e.g. statements by a physician whether an injury is likely to have
been accidental);
f. an evaluation
of the evidence by the investigator and his/her conclusion whether the
allegation is valid, invalid, or invalid with concerns (listing the
concerns);
g. any recommendations
for corrective action;
h. steps
taken to protect class member(s) during pendency of investigation.
C. Method of Proceeding
1. As a minimum, each investigator must:
a. review all medical reports connected with
the alleged incident;
b. interview
all witnesses to the incident;
c.
interview all staff who were responsible for the class member at the time of
the incident;
d. take notes or
record each interview and prepare a summary of each interview;
e. where appropriate, take photographs of any
injuries;
f. where appropriate,
seek an evaluation of the incident from professionals who either work with the
class member or who treated any injuries associated with an alleged
incident.
D.
Filing of Investigation Report
1. Upon
completion of the investigation and preparation of the investigation report,
the person responsible for conducting the investigation shall immediately send
a copy to the Gary W. Project Office, the local oversight committee, the
casemanager for the class member(s) involved in the incident and the facility
administrator. The Gary W. Project Office shall immediately send a copy of the
investigation report to the Quality Assurance Monitoring Group/Independent
Monitoring Unit, and plaintiff's counsel. In addition, the investigator shall
conduct an exit interview with the facility administrator or his/her designee
to outline findings and to cite recommendations.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with Gary W., et al., vs. State of Louisiana, Civil
Action 74-2412.
