Alabama Hospital Pays $40,000 to Settle Alleged EMTALA Violations

​An Alabama hospital has agreed to pay $40,000 and enter a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General (OIG) for allegedly violating the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) when it failed to conduct an appropriate medical screening examination and provide stabilizing treatment to a patient who came to the emergency department (ED), states an October 30, 2014, update on OIG's civil monetary penalties enforcement web page. According to OIG, the patient presented to the ED with a gunshot wound in his abdomen region, which the ED physician determined required an evaluation by the on-call general surgeon.