Morales v. Palomar Health (Summary)

EMTALA

Morales v. Palomar Health, No. 14cv0164-GPC (MDD) (S.D. Cal. Aug. 12, 2014)

The United States District Court for the Southern District of California granted in part and denied in part a hospital’s motion to dismiss a patient’s claims under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (“EMTALA”). Relying on the Ninth Circuit’s standard that “a medical screening examination is ‘appropriate’ if it is designed to identify acute and severe symptoms that alert the physician of the need for immediate medical attention to prevent serious bodily injury,” the court held that the plaintiff sufficiently alleged that the hospital failed to provide “a minimally adequate medical screening examination.” The court dismissed the patient’s second EMTALA claim, holding that the patient did not allege any facts that her screening was different from screenings provided to insured patients.