by Needle & Ellenberg, P.A.
If a Florida hospital sent you or a family member away from the emergency department without proper screening, transferred an unstabilized patient without confirmed acceptance from a receiving hospital, or refused to treat an emergency condition, and serious harm or death resulted, you may have both a federal EMTALA claim and a Florida medical malpractice claim.
The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), 42 U.S.C. § 1395dd, is a federal law that requires any Medicare-participating hospital with an emergency department to provide a medical screening examination, stabilize any emergency medical condition identified, and comply with strict requirements governing the safety of any transfer. EMTALA applies to virtually every hospital in Florida because almost all Florida hospitals participate in Medicare.
Why Choose Needle & Ellenberg, P.A.
Founding partners Andrew Needle and Andrew Ellenberg bring more than 70 years of combined experience in Florida medical negligence and plaintiffs’ injury law. Both handle plaintiffs’ injury and death cases exclusively.
Practice Focus
Andrew Ellenberg focuses on plaintiffs’ injury and medical negligence cases, with practice concentrations that include emergency department negligence, delayed diagnosis, failure to rescue, and hospital system liability. He earned his J.D. cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law in 1988. Martindale-Hubbell rates him AV Preeminent. Florida Super Lawyers has listed him every year since 2005, and The Best Lawyers in America has listed him every year since 2009 for plaintiffs’ medical malpractice and personal injury work.
Andrew Needle is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by The Florida Bar. His practice concentrations include complex federal and state hospital litigation, EMTALA violations, and catastrophic emergency care failures. He holds a J.D. cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law (1977) and a B.S. from Cornell University (1974). He is a charter member of the Miami chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates. Best Lawyers in America named him “Lawyer of the Year” for Medical Malpractice Law, Plaintiffs, in Miami for 2020 and 2025.
Verdicts and Settlements
Needle & Ellenberg, P.A. has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for clients across all practice areas, including multiple eight-figure results in medical malpractice matters. Many of the healthcare cases involved birth injuries, delayed diagnosis, surgical errors, anesthesia complications, and health system negligence. Our fees are contingent. You pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.
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Types of EMTALA and Wrongful Transfer Cases
- Transfer of an unstabilized patient without confirmed acceptance. In one documented Florida AHCA investigation at JFK North Hospital, a critically ill, intubated patient requiring vasopressors was transferred to another facility that had not actually agreed to accept the transfer, and the patient was turned away upon arrival. This is a textbook EMTALA violation: the transfer was made without a confirmed acceptance from the receiving facility, exposing a critically ill patient to the risks of unnecessary transport without any clinical benefit.
- Failure to provide a medical screening examination. EMTALA requires every patient who presents to an emergency department to receive a medical screening examination adequate to determine whether an emergency medical condition exists. A patient turned away at triage without a meaningful screening has been denied an EMTALA-required examination.
- Failure to stabilize an emergency medical condition. EMTALA requires stabilization, providing treatment to the point where no material deterioration of the condition is likely to result from or occur during transfer, before any transfer of an unstabilized patient. This is not the same as resolution of the condition. A hospital that transferred before stabilization may have violated EMTALA even if the transfer itself followed the required procedural steps.
- Patient dumping. EMTALA specifically prohibits transferring patients for economic rather than clinical reasons. A transfer made to avoid the cost or complexity of treatment, rather than for a legitimate clinical purpose at a facility better equipped to handle the condition, violates EMTALA and may also constitute Florida common-law negligence.
- Receiving hospital refusal of an on-call specialist transfer. EMTALA also imposes obligations on receiving hospitals with specialized capabilities to accept appropriate transfers. When a facility with the necessary specialty capability refuses an otherwise appropriate transfer, the receiving hospital may also face EMTALA exposure.
- Inadequate transfer personnel and equipment. EMTALA requires that any transfer of an unstabilized patient be effected by qualified personnel with appropriate medical equipment. An intubated, vasopressor-dependent patient transported without appropriate critical-care-level personnel and equipment is at risk of deterioration during transport that might have been prevented with a properly equipped transfer.
EMTALA Transfer Requirements
Before transferring any patient with an unstabilized emergency medical condition, EMTALA requires all of the following:
- A physician certification that the medical benefits of transfer outweigh the risks
- Patient or surrogate consent after being informed of the transfer risks
- Confirmation that the receiving facility has space, personnel, and equipment to treat the patient and has agreed to accept the transfer
- Transfer with qualified personnel using appropriate medical equipment
- Transmission of medical records to the receiving facility
Failure to satisfy any of these requirements may constitute an EMTALA violation. CMS can impose civil monetary penalties of more than $119,000 per violation for large hospitals, and the individual patient may have a private right of action for personal injury damages.
Florida Legal Framework for EMTALA Claims
EMTALA and Florida Malpractice Claims Run Together
In Florida, an EMTALA civil claim is independent of a state malpractice claim but may be brought simultaneously. EMTALA has its own two-year statute of limitations under 42 U.S.C. § 1395dd(d)(2)(C) and does not require compliance with Florida’s pre-suit malpractice requirements. A companion state negligence or malpractice claim does require compliance with Fla. Stat. § 766.106 pre-suit notice. A plaintiff who has suffered harm from an EMTALA-violating transfer should preserve both options by filing the required Florida pre-suit notice within the applicable limitations period.
Damages Under EMTALA
An EMTALA civil plaintiff may recover personal injury damages as allowed under state law, including medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and, in death cases, damages available under Florida’s Wrongful Death Act. Courts may also award equitable relief. EMTALA’s statute of limitations runs separately from Florida’s malpractice statute of limitations, and the careful preservation of both tracks requires attention to both timelines.
Common-Law Negligence Beyond EMTALA
Beyond EMTALA, a wrongful transfer or inappropriate discharge may constitute common-law negligence under Florida law. A hospital’s duty of care to a patient does not end at the moment of transfer; the facility must ensure that the transfer is to a facility equipped to continue the patient’s care at the required level. Transferring a critically ill patient to a facility that has not confirmed acceptance, or that lacks the staffing or equipment to continue care, is a departure from the standard of care regardless of whether EMTALA requirements are also violated.
Statute of Limitations
EMTALA’s two-year limitations period under 42 U.S.C. § 1395dd(d)(2)(C) is separate from Florida’s medical malpractice statute of limitations. Florida’s two-year discovery rule applies to the state malpractice component. Because the two tracks have independent deadlines, early analysis is important.
Florida law requires a formal Notice of Intent to Initiate Litigation before any lawsuit is filed, triggering a 90-day presuit screening period during which the statute of limitations is tolled. The claimant’s attorney must also secure a corroborating written opinion from a qualified medical professional before the notice goes out.
What Damages Are Recoverable in Florida EMTALA and Wrongful Transfer Cases?
Economic Damages
Economic damages may include all additional medical expenses caused by the improper transfer or failure to stabilize, extended hospitalization, long-term care needs, lost wages, and diminished earning capacity. In cases where the improper transfer caused permanent disability, future medical and care costs can be substantial.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages include pain, suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, scarring and disfigurement since the time of the alleged malpractice and into the future. While there was once a limit on the amount that could be recovered for this category of damages, those caps were overruled by Florida’s highest court. Some healthcare providers claim that the caps on non-economic damages still apply to a certain category of claimants who receive health insurance through Medicaid, but this is regularly disputed by lawyers for victims of malpractice. Florida’s high court has not yet ruled on this issue.
Wrongful Death Damages
When an EMTALA violation or wrongful transfer causes death, Florida’s Wrongful Death Act under Florida’s Wrongful Death Act controls recovery.
Florida’s Wrongful Death Act contains a significant restriction that applies only to medical negligence cases. Under Florida’s wrongful death statute, children of the deceased who are not under 25, and parents of a child who is not under 25 and unmarried, cannot recover non-economic damages when the death was caused by medical malpractice. This law often referred to as Florida’s “Free Kill” law is a sad and unfortunate reality for people who have lost loved ones due to malpractice, but fall within a legal protection that exists only for healthcare providers.
Contact Needle & Ellenberg, P.A.
If you believe a Florida healthcare provider caused serious harm to you or a family member through a wrongful transfer, failure to screen, or other emergency department failure, the first step is a free case evaluation. Medical malpractice cases are fact-intensive and deadline-driven. Early review by experienced counsel makes a difference in what the records show and what the timeline preserves.
We offer free, no-obligation case evaluations. Our staff speaks Spanish, and we represent clients in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa, and throughout Florida. Contact us to schedule your consultation. There is no fee unless we recover compensation for you.