Baber v. Hospital Corporation of America
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
977 F.2d 872 (1992)
Brenda Baber arrived at Raleigh General Hospital's (RGH) emergency department showing psychiatric symptoms and having recently stopped her anti-psychosis medication and been drinking. During treatment she had a seizure, fell, and cut her scalp, requiring stitches. The treating physician, Dr. Kline, attributed her disorientation to her psychiatric condition and alcohol withdrawal, did not think her head injury needed further observation, and transferred her to a psychiatric facility, BARH, without objection from her brother Barry. At BARH she suffered a grand mal seizure, was transferred back to RGH comatose, and died the next day. Barry Baber (plaintiff), as administrator of her estate, sued Kline, RGH, BARH, and their parent corporation Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) (defendants) for violating the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) by failing to properly screen and stabilize Brenda before transfer. The district court granted summary judgment for the defendant physicians, holding EMTALA gives no private right of action against individual doctors, and Baber appealed.
Whether a hospital's transfer of a patient violates the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act's stabilization requirements absent proof that the hospital had actual knowledge the patient had an emergency medical condition.