Mead v. Salem Mem'l Dist. Hosp., No. 4:07CV452 TIA (E.D.Mo. Jan. 23, 2008)
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri dismissed
an Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act ("EMTALA") claim
brought against a hospital by a patient whose stroke was misdiagnosed, resulting
in him being discharged and suffering severe injuries. In support of dismissal,
the court noted that EMTALA is not meant to provide a cause of action for general
malpractice. In this case, the patient's EMTALA claim failed because the complaint
failed to allege that: (1) the patient was given disparate treatment when compared
to other similarly situated patients, and (2) the hospital had determined or
had any actual knowledge that the patient had an "emergency medical condition" which
it failed to stabilize.