EMTALA Update

ACEP Files Brief in Important Malpractice Case
http://www.acep.org/2,4755,0.html

Excerpt

ACEP has filed its second "friend of the court" brief in a case that could have far reaching implications for emergency physicians facing malpractice lawsuits.
The brief is the latest action by the College in a case where an emergency physician faces a potential multi-million dollar judgment for intentional tort, which is defined as performing an act that results in harm.

In the case, two emergency physicians, Dr. Richard Deno and Dr. Ivan Sherman, and the hospital in which they work, were sued by a patient, Louis F. Coleman, who alleges they improperly diagnosed a condition that led to the amputation of his arm.

Although the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed allegations of an EMTALA violation, it found that Dr. Deno's transfer of the patient was "an intentional tort." That ruling voided the state's $500,000 malpractice liability cap and opened the door for a possible $3 million judgment that would not be covered by malpractice insurance.

More information….

The Supreme Court of Louisiana held that the appeals court erred in creating a new cause of action against a physician(s) for intentional patient dumping. The effect of the appellate court decision had been to bring the claim outside the reach of the Medical Malpractice Act and its limitations on damages. According to the Supreme Court of Louisiana, the physician's decision regarding where the patient should receive treatment was part and parcel of the overall medical treatment that the patient received. Thus, the physician's actions in transferring the patient were to be judged along with all other matters of professional judgment -- under the medical malpractice laws.

Coleman v. Deno.

Read the ruling if you'd like at "What's New?" from Horty, Springer, a great resource for all types of medically related law.

http://www.hortyspringer.com/hsm/lpext.dll/?f=templates&fn=wn.frame.htm