Patient’s Post-Admission Emergency Law Claims Revived on Appeal

A patient can move forward with claims that a Florida hospital violated a federal emergency care law by discharging her without first stabilizing her medical condition, a federal appeals court said Tuesday.

Lisa Matthews’ admission to Ascension St. Vincent’s Clay County Hospital didn’t preclude a suit under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which generally pertains to immediate emergency care as opposed to treatment after admission to the facility. She alleged that the Ascension St. Vincen’t, after testing for and diagnosing her with malnutrition, discharged her without treating it, the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit said ...