Defense Verdict for Hospital. Plaintiff Alleged Improper Treatment of a Patient in Anaphylactic Shock. 

The estate of the plaintiff had sought $6.37 million. The plaintiff was suffering from an allergic reaction and was driven to an immediate care center. While entering the parking lot, the plaintiff passed out in the front passenger seat. The plaintiff received immediate medical attention but was unconscious and unresponsive to stimuli. The plaintiff was unable to be removed from the car and ambulance and paramedics arrived quickly. The paramedics declined the help of the doctor on the scene with intubation. The paramedics claimed that they did not hear this offer. The paramedics attempted without success to intubate the plaintiff while on the way to the hospital. The plaintiff was eventually revived at the hospital, but suffered severe brain damage and remained in a vegetative state until her death 2.5 years later. The defense denied any violation of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act because the immediate care center did not have the facilities and capabilities to care for the patient’s emergency medical condition