Broughton v. St. John Health Sys.,
No. CIV. 02-40110 (E.D. Mich. Feb. 21, 2003)

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan dismissed a patient's claims that the hospital where she sought treatment for a headache, light sensitivity and nausea violated EMTALA's emergency medical screening and stabilization provisions. When the patient arrived in the hospital's emergency department, a CT scan of the patient's head was performed. When the scan was reported to be "essentially unremarkable," the patient was discharged. She later suffered "a brain infarct resulting in permanent brain damage and disability."

The court dismissed the patient's claim that the hospital failed to provide an appropriate screening exam because she failed to allege that the hospital treated her any differently than it would have treated any other patient, or that the hospital failed to meet its own standards. Because liability under the transfer and discharge provisions of EMTALA is predicated on the hospital's determination that the individual has an emergency medical condition, and the hospital made no such determination in this case, those claims were dismissed as well.