Lopez Morales v. Hospital Hermanos Melendez,

Lopez Morales v. Hospital Hermanos Melendez,
No. Civil No. 01-2237 (JAG) (D. P.R. Jan. 31, 2003)

The U.S. District Court for Puerto Rico dismissed an EMTALA claim filed against
a hospital by the parents of an infant who developed an emergency medical condition
the day after he was born in the hospital. The parents claimed that the infant
suffered permanent brain damage because the hospital did not properly stabilize
him before transferring him to a neonatal unit at a neighboring hospital. The
Court granted summary judgment to the hospital finding that the parents were
unable to show that the infant had not received the same medical attention that
any other patient in his position would have received prior to transfer. According
to the court, the parents were attempting to "engraft" an EMTALA claim
upon a traditional state law malpractice claim, and that the duty of the hospital
under EMTALA to stabilize the infant prior to transfer did not require that
the treatment rendered to him be perfect.