Alabama Hospital Trims Emergency Claim From Patient’s Lawsuit

An Alabama hospital isn’t liable for violating the federal emergency care law with respect to a patient whose symptoms presaged a stroke, a federal court said.

Eric Benson didn’t show Walker Baptist Medical Center had actual knowledge of an emergency medical condition before discharging him—a prerequisite to liability under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, the US District Court for the Northern District of Alabama said Sept. 26. Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala granted summary judgment for Walker Baptist on this claim.

Congress enacted EMTALA to stop “patient dumping,” a practice in which hospitals turned away patients with emergency medical ...