Williams v. United States

Berlie White, a non-Indian, went to the emergency room at the Cherokee Indian Hospital (CIH), which was operated by the U.S. Public Health Service and, under federal law, generally could not treat non-Indians except in emergencies. Federal staff refused to treat White or refill his oxygen tank because he was not Indian and sent him to a hospital ten miles away, where he arrived in severe respiratory distress and died. Williams, the administratrix of White's estate (plaintiff), sued the United States (defendant), alleging the refusal caused his death. The district court dismissed, and Williams appealed.

Whether a federally funded hospital in North Carolina owed a duty to provide emergency treatment to a patient with whom no patient-physician relationship had been formed.