Donna Hoffman v. Kent Tonnemacher

MEMORANDUM

Plaintiff Donna Hoffman appeals from the summary judgment entered in favor of Defendant Memorial Medical Center on her suit under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1395dd(a). We affirm in part and reverse in part.

1. Plaintiff first asserts that the district court erred in granting summary judgment against her. We review de novo. Corales v. Bennett, 567 F.3d 554, 562 (9th Cir.2009). The district court erred because Dr. Goldman’s testimony created a genuine issue of material fact as to causation. Dr. Goldman testified that it was more likely than not that a complete blood count would have returned an abnormal result, which would have led to immediate hospitalization and prompt administration of antibiotics. She also testified that antibiotics, if given to Plaintiff at the time of her first visit to the emergency room, more likely than not would have been able to reverse Plaintiffs systemic inflammatory response syndrome. Because we conclude that the causation issue precluded summary judgment, we need not and do not decide whether “early goal-directed therapy” may constitute screening for purposes of the Emergency Medical Treatment and…