Gillispie v. Regionalcare Hosp. Partners, Inc. — Nov. 2016 (Summary)

EMTALA

Gillispie v. Regionalcare Hosp. Partners, Inc.
Civil Action No. 13-1534 (W.D. Pa. Nov. 14, 2016)

The United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania ruled in favor of a hospital’s motion for summary judgment following allegations of a retaliatory employment action in violation of the anti-discrimination provisions of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (“EMTALA”).

The court noted that an EMTALA retaliation claim requires a “report” to a government agency.  The plaintiff claimed that she opposed, on two separate occasions, the hospital’s decision to not officially report the occurrence of a suspected EMTALA violation.  The plaintiff, however, did not submit a “report” to any governmental or regulatory agency in accordance with EMTALA.  The fact that she disagreed with the hospital’s reporting decision was, alone, insufficient to invoke the anti-retaliation protections under EMTALA.  The court, therefore, granted the motion for summary judgment in favor of the defendant hospital.