Florida Hospital Prevails in Suit Over Emergency Room User Fees

A Florida woman can’t revive a lawsuit for damages allegedly caused by a hospital’s failure to disclose an emergency room fee, the Eleventh Circuit said Tuesday.

Patricia Young didn’t state a claim for violations of Florida’s deceptive trade practices law, breach of contract, or breach of a common-law duty to disclose material information during contract negotiations, the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit said in an unpublished opinion.

Young’s action is part of a wave of lawsuits—including another in Florida in which the plaintiff voluntarily dismissed an appeal—that alleged hospitals charged fees for emergency care without telling patients ...