Physical Therapy Board of California

Substandard Care/Negligence

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Substandard Care complaints are complaints that allege concerns about the quality of care, which may include but are not limited to, negligent acts, gross negligence, and incompetence in the practice of physical therapy. These complaints may involve serious injury or death and PTBC is required to gather medical records, a response from the Subject provider, and any additional information necessary to determine if a violation of the law occurred. After all information has been gathered, PTBC staff will analyze the information to determine if there is sufficient evidence for referral to a medical consultant. In most patient care-related cases, the records will be thoroughly reviewed by a licensed physical therapist consultant. If no violation is found, or there is insufficient evidence, the complaint will be closed. If there is merit to the allegations, the case will be forwarded to the Department of Consumer Affairs, Division of Investigation for a formal investigation. The investigation may entail an onsite review of records by the physical therapist consultant, interviews of all parties and witnesses, and gathering of additional information and/or documents.