Scaife v. Lakewood Hosp. – Aug. 2015 (Summary)

EMTALA

Scaife v. Lakewood Hosp., No. 1:15 CV 388 (N.D. Ohio Aug. 28, 2015)

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio refused to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a patient who alleged that the Cleveland Clinic violated the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (“EMTALA”) when its affiliated hospital failed to properly screen and stabilize the patient prior to transfer, resulting in the loss of her unborn children. The clinic argued that it should be dismissed from the lawsuit because it was not the hospital that was involved in the patient’s treatment.

In refusing dismissal, the court noted that the patient’s allegations that the clinic leased and operated the hospital and employed the providers who cared for the patient were sufficient to survive dismissal, though litigation discovery may later show that the clinic did not have anything to do with the patient’s care, as asserted by the clinic.