ED Legal Letter – July 1, 2009
July 1, 2009
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Sixth Circuit: Admission to the Hospital Does Not End EMTALA Liability
The case of Moses v. Providence Hospital and Medical Centers, Inc. could be the tipping point that finally puts to rest the oft-repeated mantra of the civil courts that "EMTALA is not a federal malpractice law." -
EMRs: A 'plaintiff's dream'? reduce your risks
When an ED physician was sued for allegedly missing signs and symptoms of a subarachnoid hemorrhage, the emergency medical record (EMR) documentation that was brought into evidence didn't help matters. -
Special Report: Helicopter Shopping and the Interfacility Transfer of Patients
A rural hospital contacts an air medical service (AMS) provider to transfer by helicopter a patient with blunt trauma. The distance between the sending and receiving facility is 75 miles. The "Life Flight" helicopter crew receives the request at 00:00, and departs their base at 00:20. They abort the flight at 00:40 hours, 10 miles from the sending facility, because the cloud ceiling drops to 700 feet, 300 feet below the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) minimum for night flight by helicopters. The sending facility then calls another AMS provider and requests that the patient be transported to the same receiving facility. -
Documentation could lead to a courtroom 'save'
In a testicular torsion case, consistent and clear documentation by both ED nurses and physicians of the complaint, the onset of the problem and the examination of the patient placed the patient outside the timeframe where any medical intervention would have lead to a different result.