Vega-Feliciano v. Doctors' Center Hospital, Inc.

100 F. Supp. 3d 113, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55845, 2015 WL 1886209
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedMarch 31, 2015
DocketCivil No. 12-01790 (ADC)
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 100 F. Supp. 3d 113 (Vega-Feliciano v. Doctors' Center Hospital, Inc.) 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
Vega-Feliciano v. Doctors' Center Hospital, Inc., 100 F. Supp. 3d 113, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55845, 2015 WL 1886209 (prd 2015).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

AIDA M. DELGADO-COLÓN, Chief Judge.

Before the Court is defendant Doctor’s Center Hospital, Inc.’s (“DCH”) Motion for Summary Judgment (“Motion”) (ECF No. 21), U.S. Magistrate Judge Justo Arenas’ Report and Recommendation (“R & R”) that the Motion be granted (ECF No. 48), and plaintiffs’ objections to the R & R (ECF No. 51).

On September 23, 2012, plaintiff Rafael Vega-Feliciano (“Vega”), in his own capacity and on behalf of minors J.V.M. and Y.V.M. (Collectively the “Plaintiffs”), filed a complaint against DCH, John Doe, Jane Doe, and Companies X, Y, & Z, pursuant to the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (“EMTALA”), 42 U.S.C. § 1395dd. ECF No. 1.

Plaintiffs claim that the death of Sonia Molina-Rivera (“Molina”), Vega’s wife and mother to the minor plaintiffs, was the result of DCH’s failure to stabilize Molina’s emergency medical condition before transferring her to Auxilio Mutuo Hospital (“AMH”). Id. at ¶ 14. On December 9, 2012, DCH filed an answer to the complaint, stating that DCH complied with EMTALA requirements in Molina’s screening, stabilization, ' and transfer. ECF No. 7, at ¶ VII-1.

On April 19, 2014, DCH filed the Motion pursuant to Rules 7.1(a), 7.1(d), 7.1(e) and 56(a) of the Local Rules of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, on the grounds that Plaintiffs failed to state a claim under EMTALA and there are no genuine issues of material facts. ECF No. 21, at 4. The Motion was referred to Magistrate Judge Justo Arenas for the issuance of a Report and Recommendation. On September 16, 2014, Magistrate Judge Arenas issued the R & R which recommended granting the Motion [116]*116and dismissing the complaint. ECF No. 48. On October 9, 2014, Plaintiffs filed a timely opposition to the R & R (“Objection”) (ECF No. 51), to which DCH responded (ECF No. 52).

I. Procedural Background and Motion for Summary Judgment Standard

Inasmuch as Plaintiffs have not made a specific objection to the Magistrate Judge’s recitation of the procedural background and motion for summary judgment standard, the court hereby adopts the same. ECF No. 48, at 120-21 and 123-24, ¶¶ 1-2.

II. Standard of Review for Objections to a Report and Recommendation

A district court may refer pending motions to a magistrate judge for a report and recommendation. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B); Fed.R.Civ.P. 72(b); L. Cv. R. 72(a). Any party adversely affected by the report and recommendation issued may file written objections within fourteen (14) days of being served with the report and recommendation. Fed.R.Civ.P. 72(d). A party that files a timely objection is entitled to a de novo determination of “those portions of the report or specified proposed findings or recommendations to which specific objection is made.” Sylva v. Culebra Dive Shop, 389 F.Supp.2d 189, 191-92 (D.P.R.2005) (citing United States v. Raddatz, 447 U.S. 667, 673, 100 S.Ct. 2406, 65 L.Ed.2d 424 (1980)). “The district court need not consider frivolous, conclusive, or general objections.” Rivera-García v. United States, Civ. No. 06-1004(PC), 2008 WL 3287236, *1 (D.P.R. Aug. 7, 2008) (citing Battle v. U.S. Parole Comm’n, 834 F.2d 419 (5th Cir.1987)).

Moreover, to the extent the objections amount to no more than general or conclusory objections to the report and recommendation, without specifying to which issues in the report the party is objecting, or where the objections are repetitive of the arguments already made to the magistrate judge, a de novo review is unwarranted. Id. “Instead, the report and recommendation is reviewed by the district judge for clear error.” Id. (citing Camardo v. Gen. Motors Hourly-Rate Employees Pension Plan, 806 F.Supp. 380, 382 (W.D.N.Y.1992) (“It is improper for an objecting party to ... submit! ] papers to a district court which are nothing more than a rehashing of the same arguments and positions taken in the original papers submitted to the Magistrate Judge. Clearly, parties are not to be afforded a ‘second bite at the apple’ when they file objections to a R & R.”)).

In conducting its review, the court is free to “accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or recommendations made by the magistrate-judge.” 28 U.S.C. § 636(a)(b)(1); see also Templeman v. Chris Craft Corp., 770 F.2d 245, 247 (1st Cir.1985); Alamo Rodríguez v. Pfizer Pharma., Inc., 286 F.Supp.2d 144, 146 (D.P.R.2003). Hénce, the court may accept those parts of the report and recommendation to which the party does not object. See Hernández-Mejías v. General Elec., 428 F.Supp.2d 4, 6 (D.P.R.2005) (citing Lacedra v. Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility, 334 F.Supp.2d 114, 125-26 (D.R.I.2004)).

III.Legal Standard for an EMTALA Claim

EMTALA was enacted by Congress to prevent the “dumping” of patients by hospital emergency wards, and to ensure that all patients are treated equally by hospitals regardless of a patient’s insurance and socio-economic status. See Correa v. Hosp. San Francisco, 69 F.3d 1184, 1189-90 (1st Cir.1995). “EMTALA is a ‘limited antidumping statute, not a federal malpractice suit’. Bryan v. Rectors & Vis[117]*117itors of the Univ. of Va., 95 F.3d 349, 351 (4th Cir.1996).” Alvarez-Torres v. Ryder Memorial Hosp., Inc., 582 F.3d 47, 52 (1st Cir.2009). Under 42 U.S.C. § 1395dd, a hospital that participates in the federal Medicare program must provide (1) appropriate medical screening to an individual who arrives at its emergency department and a request for examination or treatment is made on his/her behalf, and (2) treatments required to stabilize the individual’s emergency medical conditions within the hospital’s capability. 42 U.S.C. §§ 1395dd(a) and 1395dd(b)(l)(A).

EMTALA does not define what an appropriate medical screening consists of; rather, it requires only that a hospital provides uniform screening for all individuals who present similar complaints. See Cruz-Vázquez v. Mennonite General Hosp., Inc., 717 F.3d 63, 69 (1st Cir.2013). A faulty screening on its own is not a violation of EMTALA. Id. at 69.

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Bluebook (online)
100 F. Supp. 3d 113, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55845, 2015 WL 1886209, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vega-feliciano-v-doctors-center-hospital-inc-prd-2015.