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Posted July 22, 2026 - by MSW Law Group
Families worried about a loved one’s safety in a Philadelphia nursing home increasingly ask which states allow cameras in nursing homes and whether Pennsylvania law gives them the right to act. Nearly 20 states have passed explicit laws permitting residents or their families to install monitoring devices, commonly called “granny cameras,” in nursing home rooms.
Pennsylvania has no such law, but state recording rules and facility policies shape what families here can and cannot do. Our Philadelphia nursing home abuse lawyer team at Murray Stone Wilson | Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys helps families understand their options when a loved one faces nursing home abuse or neglect.
Don’t wait if something feels wrong. Our legal team can review your situation, explain your options, and help you take immediate action to protect your family.
Whether a family can install a camera depends on where their loved one lives. No single federal law governs this, so individual states set the rules, and where a state has nothing on the books, the nursing home itself decides what is permitted.
Federal privacy rules, including HIPAA, the law protecting patients’ health information, add further complexity in shared rooms where a camera may capture a resident who never consented.
A recognizable pattern emerges across most states that have acted: residents must consent in writing, roommates must agree, and the facility must be notified before a camera goes in.
Other states with camera provisions include Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah, and Vermont. Maryland follows Department of Health guidelines requiring both facility and resident approval.
Pennsylvania has not passed a granny camera law, so Philadelphia families do not have the codified protections that residents in Texas or Illinois do. What governs here is Pennsylvania’s wiretapping and electronic surveillance law, 18 Pa. C.S. § 5703, which makes it a felony to record private conversations without consent. A hidden audio device in a shared room carries real legal risk, while putting a camera in a nursing home room with video only falls into less defined territory governed by individual facility policy.
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A camera can change what is possible for a family trying to protect someone they love. When abuse or neglect is captured on footage, it becomes far harder for a facility to deny and far easier for a family to act. For residents with dementia or limited ability to communicate, a camera may be the only witness to what happens behind closed doors.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Aging’s Older Adult Protective Services Annual Report, statewide elder abuse reports reached 58,614 in fiscal year 2023–2024, up 9% from the prior year and 62% higher than five years ago. When footage exists and abuse is suspected, that evidence can become central to a legal claim.
If your family has been asking which states allow cameras in nursing homes and whether Pennsylvania law protects your loved one, the next step is speaking with an attorney who knows these cases. Murray Stone Wilson | Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys can evaluate what happened, determine whether the nursing home failed to meet Pennsylvania’s required standards of care, and pursue accountability on your family’s behalf.
Call a Philadelphia nursing home abuse lawyer today at (215) 947-5300 for a free consultation. Acting promptly protects critical evidence and your family’s legal options.
William P. Murray, III is a Tampa-based Shareholder with over 15 years of experience representing victims of nursing home abuse, corporate fraud, trucking accidents, and catastrophic injuries. He earned his Juris Doctor from American University’s Washington College of Law, where he received the Mooers’ Trophy for excellence in trial practice, and has served as both a trial lawyer and managing attorney at a national firm before co-founding Murray, Stone & Wilson, PLLC. Recognized as a Super Lawyers Rising Star in Pennsylvania and Florida.
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This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by our team of attorneys, who have more than 50 years of combined legal experience in helping victims of nursing home abuse.
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