ED Legal Letter – November 1, 2008

November 1, 2008

• EMTALA Ends Once Patient is "Admitted" to the Hospital

  In the early civil cases litigated under the law in the 1990s, the courts held that EMTALA's duty to stabilize continued to apply throughout the patient's entire stay in the hospital, no matter how long it was.

  Read more

• Should you restrain your patient? Know legal risks

  You find yourself wrestling with an uncooperative, intoxicated trauma patient who removes his own cervical collar. It's easy to see that this scenario is fraught with legal risks, but what is the right thing to do in this kind of situation?

  Read more

• Special Report: The difficult airway: Part I

  Airway management that results in a negligence claim usually involves a "difficult airway." Airways classified as difficult typically are compromised by an anatomical or other condition that makes intubation by the oral, nasal, or surgical routes difficult or impossible.

  Read more

• Could The Joint Commission's antibiotic standard get you sued?

  An elderly man comes to your ED and is admitted to the hospital with severe dehydration and fever of unknown origin. Two days later, an X-ray reveals pneumonia.

  Read more