Friday, October 19, 2012

Wilmington General Hospital v. Manlove case brief

Wilmington General Hospital v. Manlove (1961)
174 A.2d 135

Procedural History
•    Defendant hospital appealed an order of the Superior Court, New Castle County (Delaware), which denied the hospital’s motion for summary judgment but held that the hospital was liable to plaintiff, the administrator of a decedent infant’s estate, for refusing to furnish medical treatment to the child in an emergency.

Facts
•    A baby was taken by his parents to the emergency room of a hospital, presenting a history of two days of high temperature, sleeplessness, and diarrhea. The nurse refused to admit the baby, saying it was hospital policy not to treat a patient who was already under the care of a physician. The parents returned home and made an appointment to see the child’s doctor that evening, but the child died in the afternoon of bronchial pneumonia. The administrator of the infant’s estate filed suit against the hospital. The trial court denied the hospital’s motion for summary judgment but held that the hospital was liable for refusing to furnish medical treatment in an emergency because it was a quasi-public institution.

Issue
•    What is the legal duty for a private hospital?
The Rule
•    A private hospital owes the public no duty to accept any patient not desired by it, and it is not necessary to assign any reason for its refusal to accept a patient for hospital service. HOWEVER, Liability on the part of a hospital may be predicated on the refusal of service to a patient in case of an unmistakable emergency.

Application
•    On appeal, the court affirmed the denial of summary judgment but disagreed with the trial court’s reasoning. The court explained that the hospital was a private institution and had the right to deny any person admission or treatment. However, a hospital’s liability could be predicated on the refusal of service to a patient in an unmistakable emergency. The case was remanded to the trial court for further development of the record.
•    The receipt of public funds and the exemption from taxation do not convert a private hospital into a public one. The rule has even been applied to a county-owned hospital if leased to and operated by a private corporation.
•    A private hospital owes the public no duty to accept any patient not desired by it, and it is not necessary to assign any reason for its refusal to accept a patient for hospital service.
•    A private hospital is under no legal obligation to the public to maintain an emergency ward, or, for that matter, a public clinic.
•    Liability on the part of a hospital may be predicated on the refusal of service to a patient in case of an unmistakable emergency.

Holding
•    The court affirmed the trial court’s denial of the hospital’s motion for summary judgment and remanded the case for further proceedings


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