Title: What is the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA)? - FindLaw
Headings: What is the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA)?
What is the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA)?
What is EMTALA?
Does EMTALA Apply to All Hospitals?
What Actions Must a Hospital Take Under EMTALA?
1. Appropriate Medical Screening Examination
2. Stabilization of Any Emergency Medical Condition
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What If a Hospital Does Not Follow EMTALA?
What Does a Patient Have to Prove in a Lawsuit?
Is There a Penalty for Violating EMTALA?
Protect Your EMTALA Rights: Call a Health Care Attorney

Content: Therefore, a hospital violates the MSE requirement of EMTALA only when individuals who are perceived to have the same medical condition receive different treatment. Similarly, EMTALA’s stabilization requirement is intended only to regulate a hospital’s care of a patient immediately after admitting the patient for emergency care. Once a patient is admitted to the hospital and placed under the care of physicians, state medical malpractice law, not EMTALA, covers the actions of hospital and doctors. What Does a Patient Have to Prove in a Lawsuit? In a lawsuit brought under EMTALA, the patient must establish that the hospital treated them differently from other patients. Some courts have determined that in order to prove he or she did not receive an appropriate MSE, the patient must show there was an improper motive on the part of the hospital. That means, the decision as to what type of screening to provide was motivated by improper factors such as the inability to pay, race, or the sex of the patient. Is There a Penalty for Violating EMTALA? Depending on the facts of the case, hospitals or physicians that violate EMTALA are subject to fines and may lose Medicare provider agreements. Protect Your EMTALA Rights: