Arkansas Hospital Beats Emergency Care, Med Malpractice Claims

An Arkansas man lost his case against a hospital that allegedly transferred him to another facility without first stabilizing his emergency medical condition because the hospital’s liability under federal law ended when it admitted him as a patient, a federal court said.

Mark Cheatwood’s claims didn’t fall into a “sham admission” exception to the rule that a hospital can’t be held liable under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act for conduct occurring after a patient has been admitted, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas said.

The evidence didn’t support Cheatwood’s argument that doctors at ...