Federal Judge Dismisses Bulk of Wrongful Death Lawsuit Over Forcibly Removed Patient

Calhoun Liberty Hospital must still contend with a $45,000 fine and carry out a corrective action plan to address 10 related deficiencies.

This article is excerpted from a story originally published on the Credentialing Resource Center, August 28, 2017.

A federal judge has dismissed the wrongful death, battery, and false imprisonment claims of a lawsuit filed by the estate of Barbara Dawson against Calhoun Liberty Hospital and its employees; the city of Blountstown, Florida; and an officer of the Blountstown Police Department. According to the Tallahassee Democrat, the estate’s claim that Calhoun Liberty violated the Florida Emergency Services Act, which is similar to the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), remains and is set for trial in October.

Dawson died at Calhoun Liberty from a blood clot in her lung on December 21, 2015. The previous night, she arrived by ambulance to the hospital complaining of stomach pain. She was then treated, cleared to leave, and discharged. However, she complained of difficulty breathing and refused to leave the hospital.

For more than an hour, Dawson remained at the hospital and argued with medical staff and the police officer called to the scene. The officer eventually placed Dawson in handcuffs and arrested her for disorderly conduct and trespassing. As the officer escorted Dawson out of the hospital to his police cruiser, she continued to complain of breathing difficulty and pleaded for her oxygen machine before collapsing. She was taken back into the hospital and died less than two hours later.

Following Dawson’s death, the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) investigated Calhoun Liberty and found 10 deficiencies related to the incident, including failure by the hospital to provide Dawson an appropriate medical screening examination when she made her complaint and discharging her without stabilizing her emergency medical condition. The AHCA fined Calhoun Liberty $45,000 and ordered it to undertake a corrective action plan to address the deficiencies, which included staff training on EMTALA requirements.

Three hospital employees—two nurses and a paramedic—were also fired following Dawson’s death. The paramedic and one of the nurses had been named as defendants in the lawsuit filed by Dawson’s estate.

The officer named in the lawsuit had also been investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement but was not charged of any crimes. Finding the officer’s actions were appropriate under the circumstances, the State Attorney’s Office cleared the officer of any criminal law violation in May 2016.