LA files more patient dumping cases

Los Angeles city attorneys have filed another group of patient dumping cases as part of an ongoing investigation [1]. This time, the office has targeted Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center [2] in Los Feliz and Methodist Hospital in Arcadia, along with transportation service Empire Enterprises.

The city cited the organizations for four incidents, including one infamous case in which Empire allegedly left a homeless paraplegic man with a colostomy crawling in a Skid Row gutter. In each case, the hospitals dispatched patients down to Skid Row without adequate plans for follow-up care to avoid having to care for them, the city attorneys claim. The case seeks fines against the hospitals, as well as a judge's order forbidding patient dumping.

City attorneys are hoping to use a state law used to prosecute accused slumlords to pursue the alleged offenders. (It's not clear whether this behavior would violate EMTALA; the feds haven't weighed in.) Meanwhile, the state of California is considering a bill that would outlaw patient dumping by hospitals [3].

To find out more about the cases:
- read this Los Angeles Times article [4]

Related Articles:
Kaiser faces patient dumping charges. Report [5]
With nowhere else to go, homeless, indigent seek ED. Article [6]
Activists use 'Sicko' as rally point for change. Article [7]