Can a drug intoxicated patient who signed out AMA sue a hospital under EMTALA because while still intoxicated 4 hours later he assaulted a police officer.

No says a federal court in florida.

Johnson overdosed on prescription medications and was taken to HealthCentralHospital’s emergency room. He was evaluated in the emergency room and was subsequently admitted to the intensive care unit.

Note: This does not suggest that it may not be malpractice to allow an intoxicated patient to sign out AMA.

According to Johnson, he woke up in the ICU and asked a nurse if he could go make a phone call. He was told that he could do so if he signed a form, which said that Johnson was leaving the hospital against the advice of his physician.

Johnson said he signed the form without reading it or understanding it. His IVs were then removed and Johnson was taken to a telephone in the hallway of the hospital, where he called his boss to come pick him up.

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida granted Health Central summary judgment. According to the court, “the undisputed facts reflect that Johnson received appropriate medical screening, and was also the recipient of substantial efforts to stabilize his medical condition.”

The court's opinion noted that after voluntarily leaving the hospital against his physician’s advice, Johnson “now seeks to use the remedial provisions of the EMTALA to hold Health Central responsible for the consequence of his criminal conduct.” The court refused to allow Johnson’s “outlandish” claim to go forward, and granted Health Central summary judgment.

Johnson v. Health Central Hosp., No. 6:04CV1436-ORL-31DAB (M.D. Fla. Mar. 20, 2006).