Kenyon v. Hosp. San Antonio, Inc. (Summary)

EMTALA

Kenyon v. Hosp. San Antonio, Inc., No. 11-1883 (FAB) (D. P.R. June 28, 2013)

The United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico granted a hospital’s motion to dismiss a patient’s EMTALA and state law claims, finding that the hospital did not fail to screen the patient, stabilize the patient, or facilitate the patient’s transfer.  The court held that on two separate occasions the hospital did not fail to screen the patient for purposes of EMTALA.  A hospital may still comply with the screening provisions of EMTALA even if there was a misdiagnosis of the patient’s condition.  EMTALA does not provide a cause of action when a hospital does not stabilize an emergency medical condition it negligently failed to diagnose.   In addition, the hospital did not have the medications necessary to stabilize the patient and, upon transfer, the accepting hospital was prepared to provide the patient with the treatment she required.  Finally, because EMTALA does not create an affirmative right to a transfer to another medical facility for the best treatment available, the ambulance company’s alleged profit-driven disregard for the patient’s medical needs did not amount to the hospital’s failure to facilitate the patient’s transfer.