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Ethics & Law · single question

A dentist makes a good-faith report of suspected child abuse, which is later found to be unsubstantiated. What legal protection generally applies to the reporting dentist?

  1. Most jurisdictions provide legal immunity from civil or criminal liability for good-faith mandated reports of suspected abuse, even if the report later proves unsubstantiated
  2. The dentist can typically be successfully sued for making any report that turns out to be incorrect
  3. The dentist loses their license automatically for reporting incorrectly
  4. No legal protections exist for mandated reporters anywhere in the U.S.
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Correct answer: A. Most jurisdictions provide legal immunity from civil or criminal liability for good-faith mandated reports of suspected abuse, even if the report later proves unsubstantiated

To encourage mandated reporters to act on reasonable suspicion without fear of legal retaliation, most U.S. jurisdictions provide legal immunity from civil and criminal liability for good-faith reports of suspected abuse — even when an investigation later finds the suspicion was unsubstantiated, as long as the report was made reasonably and in good faith (not maliciously or with knowing falsity).

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