Failure of E.R. to Diagnose G.I. Bleed: Suit Under EMTALA.(emergency room, gastrointestinal, Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act)

CAN A HOSPITAL BE IN VIOLATION OF THE EMERGENCY MEDICAL TREATMENT AND ACTIVE LABOR ACT (EMTALA) FOR FAILURE TO DIAGNOSE A G.I. BLEED? That was the issue with which the courts were confronted in this North Carolina case. Was the hospital in violation of EMTALA when the patient's primary care physician discharged him the day after admission after misdiagnosing his symptoms as related to a seizure instead of the gastrointestinal bleeding which resulted in the patient's death twelve hours after discharge?

RANDY TRIVETTE, A SEVERELY DISABLED ADULT, LIVED UNDER THE CARE OF HIS PARENTS ALL OF HIS LIFE. On May 2, 1996, Randy was taken by ambulance to North Carolina Baptist Hospital because of …