Morejon v. Mariners Hosp., Inc. — June 2016 (Summary)

TRANSFER OF PATIENT

Morejon v. Mariners Hosp., Inc.
No. 3D15-1711 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. June 8, 2016)

The District Court of Appeal of Florida affirmed a trial court’s final judgment of dismissal in favor of a hospital, rejecting the patient’s argument that a state law created a duty for the hospital to transfer the patient upon request.  The state law used the permissive phrase “may be transferred” when describing situations in which a patient is transferred to another hospital.  Since the law is written with a permissive connotation rather than with the mandatory connotation with words such as “must” or “shall,” the hospital is not under a duty to transfer patients.