Thomas Sutton sought damages from Fayette EMS for allegedly falsely imprisoning, and assaulting and battering him while transporting him from a local clinic where he sought medical care to a nearby hospital for higher level care.
Background Facts
In March 2022, Sutton, who is a disabled veteran with various diagnosed medical conditions including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and a chronically elevated heart rate, arrived at a Fayette County clinic for a medical appointment. A nurse practitioner observed Sutton experiencing a highly elevated heart rate, and advised that he be transported to a hospital for further medical observation and treatment. Sutton, however, expressed that he did not wish to go and would not consent to be transported there by ambulance because his medical conditions did not present emergent medical issues that required immediate hospitalization. Still, the nurse practitioner and another medical professional at the clinic would not allow him to leave without addressing his condition and requested transportation for him.
In response to this request, two medical technicians from Fayette EMS arrived at the clinic to take him to the hospital by ambulance. According to Sutton, once the EMS technicians arrived, they conspired with the nurse practitioner and the other clinician to restrain and forcefully sedate him to transport him to the hospital against his will and without his consent. Once there, hospital staff exercised their own medical judgment and admitted him as a patient. He remained there for two days until he was discharged.
Based on these interactions, Sutton filed a complaint alleging false imprisonment, assault and battery, and civil rights violations against, among others, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the clinic, the nurse practitioner, the hospital, the hospital’s staff, and Fayette EMS and its technicians. Later, Sutton filed an amended complaint. Fayette EMS responded with a motion to dismiss, which the District Court granted. Sutton appealed.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (“Federal Appellate Court”) stated in its March 26, 2024 non precedential Opinion that where a complaint is predicated upon facts constituting medical treatment, that is, when it involves diagnosis, care and treatment by licensed professionals, the action must be characterized as a professional negligence action. The Federal Appellate Court stated in the case it was deciding: “First, we agree with the District Court that Sutton’s claims against Fayette EMS are based on its technicians’ actions taken in the course of their provision of medical services. The Amended Complaint provides that Sutton’s nurse practitioner and another clinician “requested an ambulance to transport the Plaintiff to a hospital due to his elevated heart rate,” and the technicians “arrived at [the clinic] in the ir capacities as medical professionals” to do so. In the course of transporting Sutton to the hospital, the technicians allegedly “restrained [Sutton] and forcefully sedated him.” It is undisputed that these actions, whether medically justified or not, occurred in the course of the technicians’ professional relationship with Sutton.”
“Second, unlike false imprisonment or “assault and battery claims[, which] do not implicate professional negligence in the form of medical malpractice since they do not raise questions of medical judgment beyond the realm of common knowledge and experience[,]” this case involves more than what a layperson may be expected to understand … Without the assistance of specialized knowledge of EMS technician training and standards, the Court cannot evaluate the propriety of the technicians’ actions forming the crux of Sutton’s claims in this case. Would the technicians have been permitted to decline the clinic’s request to transport Sutton despite the judgment of independent medical providers that he was suffering from “a highly elevated heart rate?” Was restraining Sutton medically necessary to transport him in an ambulance? See, e.g., Waynesboro Hosp., 917 A.2d at 323 (concluding that determining the propriety of a medical staff member’s decision not to restrain a stroke patient during transfer from an emergency room to a hospital room required specialized knowledge and experience). Similarly, was administering a sedative to Sutton medically necessary given his elevated heart rate and other “diagnosed medical conditions including, but not limited to, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease?” It is evident on these facts that Sutton’s claims raise questions of medical judgment beyond the realm of common knowledge and experience.”
A dissent stated, in part: “Under Pennsylvania law, “a claim based upon a lack of informed consent involves a battery committed upon a patient by a physician, an action which is distinct from a claim of a consented-to, but negligently performed, medical treatment” … Sutton has a well-established common law right to refuse medical treatment … And though medical emergencies can obviate the need for consent, see id. at 910, a patient’s “clear directive” refusing treatment can “override evidence of medical necessity.” … Sutton alleges intentional torts, not mere negligence. He accuses Fayette EMS of sedating him and transporting him to a hospital without his consent. Such claims do not
require a certificate of merit. See Pa. R. Civ. P. 1042.3(a); Montgomery, 798 A.2d at 749. These claims also fall outside the ambit of immunity under Pennsylvania’s Emergency Medical Services Act and could support punitive damages. See 35 Pa. C.S.A. § 8151(2); Pa. Cons. Stat. § 1303.505(a)–(b). For these reasons, I would vacate the order of the District Court dismissing Sutton’s claims against Fayette EMS and remand for further proceedings.”
Source Sutton v. Secretary United States Department of Veteran Affairs, No. 23-1414.
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