Texas PJC Malpractice 2022

M EDICAL M ALPRACTICE —T HEORIES OF D IRECT L IABILITY

PJC 51.20

Carroll Parish Hospital Service District , 134 F.3d 319, 323 (5th Cir. 1998) (“Failure to appreciate the extent of the patient’s injury or illness, as well as a subsequent failure to order an additional diagnostic procedure, may constitute negligence or malpractice, but cannot support an EMTALA claim for inappropriate screening.”). Caveat. If there is competent evidence that the conditions or diagnoses noted in the patient’s chart, even if incorrect or incomplete, would nonetheless constitute an “emergency medical condition” under the statutory definition, a jury question similar to QUESTION 2 above should be submitted for jury determination. See Battle v. Memorial Hospital , 228 F.3d 544, 559 (5th Cir. 2000). The definition of “stabilized” can be found at 42 U.S.C. §1395dd(e)(3)(A), (e)(3)(B). See Corpus Christi Day Cruise, LLC v. Christus Spohn Health System Corp. , 398 S.W.3d 303, 313 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi–Edinburg 2012, pet. denied). The definitions of an appropriate and inappropriate transfer or discharge can be found at 42 U.S.C. § 1395dd(c).

105