Rios v. Hospital Hima San Pablo Fajardo

126 F. Supp. 3d 237, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118693, 2015 WL 5174984
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedSeptember 4, 2015
DocketCivil No. 3:14-CV-01760 (JAF)
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 126 F. Supp. 3d 237 (Rios v. Hospital Hima San Pablo Fajardo) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Puerto Rico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rios v. Hospital Hima San Pablo Fajardo, 126 F. Supp. 3d 237, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118693, 2015 WL 5174984 (prd 2015).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

JOSÉ ANTONIO FUSTÉ, District Judge.

I.

Introduction

This matter is before the court on Defendant Centro Médico del Turabo, Inc. d/b/a HIMA San Pablo-Fajardo’s (hereinafter “HSPF”) Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 15) and Plaintiffs Irma Santiago-Ríos and Carlos Edgardo Ramirez-Santiago’s (hereinafter “Plaintiffs”) Motion for Leave to File a Second Amended Complaint (ECF No. 14). The parties have fully briefed each of the motions and the matters are ripe for review. For the following reasons, HSPF’s Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 15) is GRANTED, and Plaintiffs’ Motion for Leave to File Second Amended Complaint is DENIED.

II.

Factual and Procedural Summary

The court will, set forth only those facts sufficient to provide a background summary of Plaintiffs’ claims, and will include additional facts, if and when needed, in the analysis below. On October 14, 2012, decedent Ramón Santiago-Ríos, a 78-year-old man, was involved in an automobile accident at approximately 3:30 a.m. Mr. Santiago-Ríos was taken by ambulance to [239]*239HSPF and arrived at 4:40 a.m. He was immediately examined by nurses in the Emergency Department for TRIAGE and was examined by a doctor by 4:45 a.m. Mr. Santiago-Ríos remained under the care of HSPF until his discharge at 2:40 p.m., with instructions for follow up.

Two days later, at 7:00 p.m. on October 16, 2012, Mr. Santiago-Ríos returned to HSPF by ambulance. He was again immediately received at the Emergency Department for TRIAGE. He remained under the care of HSPF until he passed away at 1:50 a.m. on October 17, 2012. The cause of death was complications from body trauma with duodenal ulcer and coronary artery disease as contributing factors.

On October 13, 2014, Plaintiffs filed suit against HSPF alleging improper screening and improper discharge of their relative under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1395 dd (hereinafter “EMTALA”) for the events that took place on October 14, 16, and 17, 2012.1 Plaintiffs’ claims are not inherited claims of the deceased Mr. Santiago-Ríos; instead, they seek $300,000 each for the emotional damages they sustained as a result of Mr. Santiago-Ríos’ death.

III.

Summary Judgment Standard

We grant a motion for summary judgment “if the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). A factual dispute is “genuine” if it could be resolved in favor of either party and “material” if it potentially affects the outcome of the case. Calero-Cerezo v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 355 F.3d 6, 19 (1st Cir.2004).

The movant carries the burden of establishing that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The movant does not need to produce evidence to prove the absence of a genuine issue of material fact but may instead point to a lack of evidence supporting the nonmovant’s case. Id. In evaluating a motion for summary judgment, we must view the record in the light most favorable to the nonmovant, and we must consider the entire record of admissible evidence. See Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., 530 U.S. 133, 150-51, 120 S.Ct. 2097, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (2000). “Once the moving party has made a preliminary showing that no genuine issue of material fact exists, the nonmovant must produce specific facts, in suitable eviden-tiary form, to establish the presence of a trialworthy issue.” Clifford v. Barnhart, 449 F.3d 276, 280 (1st Cir.2006) (internal quotation marks omitted). The non-mov-ant “may not rely merely on allegations or denials in its own pleading; rather, its response must ... set out specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial.” Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(e)(2).

IV.

Law and Analysis

A. EMTALA

Plaintiffs allege that HSPF violated EMTALA by providing an inadequate medical screening and improper discharge of decedent Mr. Santiago-Ríos, which led to his death two days later.

EMTALA requires hospital emergency rooms to conduct an “appropriate medical screening examination ... to determine whether or not an emergency [240]*240medical condition ... exists.” 42 U.S.C. § 1395dd(a). An “appropriate medical screening” under § 1395dd(a) is one “reasonably calculated to identify critical medical conditions that may be afflicting symptomatic patients and provides that level of screening uniformly.” Correa v. Hosp. San Francisco, 69 F.3d 1184, 1192 (1st Cir.1995). EMTALA, however, is not a cause of action for medical malpractice. Id. While either a refusal to screen or a policy that results in a disparate screening violates EMTALA, a flawed medical screening, standing alone, does not. See id. at 1192-93.

If a patient is found to have an emergency medical condition, a hospital must stabilize the condition prior to transfer, subject to certain exceptions. § 1395dd(b)-(c). An “emergency medical condition” is one that “manifest[s] itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity ... such that the absence of immediate medical attention could reasonably be expected to result in — (i) placing the health of the individual ... in serious jeopardy, (ii) serious impairment to bodily functions, or (iii) serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part.” § 1395dd(e)(l)(A).

B. Standing

Our first question is whether Plaintiffs, who are not the patient, have authority to pursue their own personal EMTALA claims against HSPF. Section 1395dd(d)(2) states that: “[a]ny individual who suffers personal harm as a direct result of a participating hospital’s violation of a requirement of this section may, in a civil action obtain those damages available for personal injury under the law of the State in which the hospital is located.... ” HSPF argues that that the words “individual” and “direct”, contained in the statute, denote that a claim under EMTALA belongs to the patient and may be pursued by the patient or the patient’s heirs who inherit the patient’s claim.

In Correa, the First Circuit stated that “EMTALA looks to state law, broadly defined to include Puerto Rico law, see 42 U.S.C. §§ 410(h), 1395x(x), anent the availability of damages.” Id.

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Bluebook (online)
126 F. Supp. 3d 237, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118693, 2015 WL 5174984, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rios-v-hospital-hima-san-pablo-fajardo-prd-2015.