Tuesday, November 12, 2013

In re Baby K case brief

In re Baby K case brief summary
16 F.3d 590 (1994)


CASE SYNOPSIS
Plaintiff hospital sought review of a decision by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The district court held that under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), 42 U.S.C.S. § 1395dd, the hospital had a duty to provide respiratory support to an anencephalic infant.

CASE FACTS

The hospital filed a declaratory judgment action, seeking to resolve the issue of whether it was obligated under EMTALA to provide emergency medical treatment to an anencephalic infant that it deemed medically and ethically inappropriate. The hospital claimed that under EMTALA, it only had a duty to provide the infant with warmth, nutrition, and hydration. The district court rejected the argument and found that the hospital was required to provide respiratory support when the baby was presented in respiratory distress and treatment was requested for her. 

DISCUSSION

  • The court affirmed the decision, holding that the hospital conceded that when the infant was presented in respiratory distress a failure to provide "immediate medical attention" would reasonably be expected to cause serious impairment of her bodily functions. 
  • Thus, the infant's breathing difficulty qualified as an emergency medical condition under EMTALA, and the diagnosis of this emergency medical condition triggered the duty of the hospital to provide the infant with stabilizing treatment or to transfer her in accordance with the provisions of EMTALA.

CONCLUSION
The court affirmed the decision that found that the hospital had a duty under EMTALA to provide respiratory support to an anencephalic infant she was presented in respiratory distress and treatment was requested for her.

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