Can You Sue a Doctor for Not Treating You?

If you have been turned away when seeking medical treatment, you are probably wondering if you have any recourse. When you find yourself in a situation like this, you should consider consulting with a medical malpractice attorney. You could be entitled to financial compensation.

When Does a Hospital Have to Provide Emergency Care?

The CDC estimates that over 150 million patients go to the emergency room each year in the United States. Many hospitals are required to provide emergency screening and stabilizing care to individuals even without insurance.

In 1986, Congress enacted the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA). EMTALA requires Medicare-participating hospitals with emergency departments to provide an appropriate medical screening exam when a person comes to the emergency department seeking care, regardless of whether or not they can pay for the medical care out of pocket or with insurance. EMTALA also requires hospitals to treat patients until they are stable even without payment. It mandates that a hospital may not release someone in need of medical care to another hospital based on that person’s inability to pay.

What Healthcare Facilities Are Not Covered by EMTALA?

Not all healthcare facilities are included in EMTALA’s mandates. Some types of healthcare providers not included in EMTALA are:

• Hospitals with no emergency department.
• Laboratories that do not provide emergency services.
• Hospitals that are not funded by the federal government.
• Private doctor’s offices.

Can a Hospital Legally Deny Emergency Care?

There are specific circumstances when a hospital is not required to provide stabilizing emergency treatment. Under EMTALA, the hospital must first provide an appropriate medical screening exam to determine whether an emergency medical condition exists. If the screening does not show an emergency medical condition, the hospital may not be required to provide further emergency treatment.

Other factors may affect how care is provided, including situations involving patients who:

• Behave inappropriately or dangerously.
• Are not sick or suffering from pain or illness.
• Are likely only seeking emergency treatment to obtain drugs or pain medication and not for legitimate emergency services.

What Happens if a Doctor Refuses a Patient?

EMTALA imposes various punishments, including:

• Fines up to $50,000 for healthcare providers.
• Terminating the healthcare provider’s medicare provider agreement.
• Allowing the hospital to be sued for personal injury.

Are There Situations Where a Private Hospital Can Refuse to Treat a Patient?

EMTALA does not apply to every healthcare provider or every medical setting. Private doctors’ offices, non-emergency facilities, and facilities without emergency departments may have more room to decline treatment, depending on the circumstances. However, a private hospital may still be covered by EMTALA if it participates in Medicare and operates an emergency department. Providers and facilities cannot refuse treatment in a discriminatory way, which includes discrimination based on age, gender, sexual orientation, race, nationality, or religion.

Other hospitals may refuse treatment for the following reasons:

• If the potential patient cannot pay for the medical care.
• If the hospital was clear that it would not treat potential patients with the specific illness that the patient presented with.
• If the potential patient has a previous unpaid bill for previous treatment.
• If the particular doctor has moral or religious reasons to not perform the treatment.
• If the doctor’s office is not accepting new patients.
• If the patient is displaying inappropriate or offensive behavior.
• If the patient has behaved in such a way that the hospital or doctor could reasonably conclude that the patient is only seeking drugs.
• If the hospital or doctor’s office no longer accepts the patient’s health insurance.

What If the Situation Does Not Fall Under EMTALA?

The best way to recover compensation after being refused treatment is to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. Even if your claim doesn’t line up perfectly with EMTALA, you can file a medical malpractice lawsuit for negligence.

How Do You Prove Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice claims are often the result of a negligent action. Negligence is the failure to act with the level of care that a reasonably careful person would have used.

Each medical malpractice claim is different, but negligence claims generally must prove four elements:

• A duty of care. The party who was at fault (doctor or healthcare provider) must have owed the injured party a duty of reasonable care. This is an obligation to avoid harming others when the harm is foreseeable. However, for doctors, this standard is much higher because of their training and experience. A doctor’s actions will be evaluated based on what a reasonable doctor would have done in the situation.
• Breach of the duty of care. The injured party must prove that the doctor breached the standard of care owed to them.
• That negligence caused the injury. The injured party needs to show a direct link between the action and their injury. The negligence must have been an essential part of the harm caused by the doctor. This can be complicated in medical malpractice if the harm caused to the patient had multiple causes or multiple healthcare workers failed to notice something.
• Actual damages. The injured party must be able to prove that they suffered actual injury and that it caused them damages like more medical bills or lost wages. These damages can also be the mental pain and suffering from the malpractice incident.

How Long Do You Have to File a Medical Malpractice Claim?

Medical malpractice claims must be filed within a specified time period. A statute of limitations is a limit on how long after your accident you can file your claim. Statutes of limitations are meant to protect against unfair lawsuits by making sure the injured party in the legal action can still gather the evidence needed to fairly defend themselves.

The statute of limitations in a medical malpractice suit will depend on the place where the medical malpractice occurred, whether the malpractice caused death, and when the malpractice was discovered.

The length of the statute of limitations will depend on the state, but in Washington, DC, you have three years from the date of the medical error to file your claim, though this clock can also start from the date you discovered the harm. In Maryland, you have three years to file your claim and in Virginia, you have two years to file.

To guarantee that you do not miss these important deadlines, you should speak with a medical malpractice lawyer as soon as you can. Once the statute of limitations runs on your claim, you will not have the right to pursue it and recover damages any longer.

Why Choose Regan Zambri Long as Your Medical Malpractice Lawyer?

If you have been turned away when seeking medical treatment, one of our experienced medical malpractice lawyers can help. We are confident that we can reach the settlement you deserve. Our medical malpractice lawyers have years of experience and have handled thousands of cases in the Washington, DC, area and other surrounding areas. Regan Zambri Long, PLLC has settled some of the largest settlements and verdicts for medical malpractice in the area, including an $11 million settlement in a medical malpractice case against a health maintenance organization after heart surgery.

Our lawyers often operate on a contingency fee basis, meaning that they are compensated for their services only after you win, and the amount owed is based on the amount you win at trial. Contact Regan Zambri Long today for a free case evaluation.

About the Author

Patrick M. Regan, Esq.

Patrick Regan is a board certified personal injury lawyer and a founding partner at Regan Zambri Long. His practice is devoted to helping those who suffered catastrophic injuries in car accidents, truck accidents, Metro accidents, and medical malpractice. Over his nearly 40-year career, Patrick has obtained some of the most significant jury verdicts in the history of Washington, DC on behalf of injured victims. Patrick is licensed to practice law in Washington, DC, Virginia, and Maryland. He received his B.A. at Hamilton College and his J.D. at the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America.