ED Legal Letter – December 1, 2014

December 1, 2014

• Do Hospitals Have an Obligation to Check the Patient’s Insurance Status Before Transfer From the ED?

  In a fascinating case that raises more questions than provides answers, a Louisiana appellate court grappled with the issue of whether the Louisiana Medicaid program was required to pay for the out-of-state inpatient care provided to its Medicaid enrollee in Georgia after transfer from a Louisiana hospital emergency department.

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• Can Patients Successfully Sue if Exposed to Ebola in ED Waiting Room?

  An Ebola patient presents to an emergency department (ED) and is either misdiagnosed and discharged or is not appropriately isolated and infects others. What is the liability risk for the emergency physician (EP)?

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• Possible Malpractice Suit? Contacting the Right Person Can Make Claim More Defensible

  Is malpractice litigation a real possibility due to an error made in the emergency department (ED) that harmed a patient?

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• Poor Systems for ED "Bounceback" Patients Can Result in Suits

  Patients who present to the emergency department (ED) more than once in a short amount of time for the same complaint or symptoms present some unique liability risks for emergency physicians (EPs), warns Kathleen Shostek, RN, ARM, CPHRM, senior consultant in the healthcare risk management and patient safety division of Sedgwick, a Memphis-based third party administrator for professional liability claims.

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