Hospital Sued for Deporting Illegal Immigrant Patient
STUART, Fla. (July 23) - All sides agree on one thing in the case of a South Florida hospital that secretly repatriated a seriously brain injured patient back to Guatemala.
During the early hours of a steamy July 2003 morning, Martin Memorial Medical Center chartered a private plane and sent Luis Jimenez back to the Central American country without telling his relatives in the U.S. or Guatemala — even as his cousin and legal guardian, Montejo Gaspar, frantically sought to stop the move
There, things get murky. Gaspar is suing the hospital for essentially deporting Jimenez, who was an illegal immigrant. The hospital, which spent more than $1.5 million on his care over three years, says Jimenez wanted to go home.
Underlying the dispute is the broader question of what Americans expect a hospital to do with a patient who requires long-term care, is unable to pay and doesn’t qualify for federal or state aid because of his immigration status. Health care and immigration experts across the country are watching the case, which could set precedent in Florida and possibly beyond. Lawyers for Jimenez said this appears to be the first time a lawsuit has been filed in such a case.
The case went to the jury for deliberations this afternoon.
Help me out here. Did the hospital do something illegal?
Furthermore aided by a prominent Floridian firm, Jiménez’s cousin is currently suing the hospital for the personal injury of false imprisonment—essentially arguing that Martin Memorial’s actions constituted kidnapping.
Ohforshitsake .. they took him home to his mother. Last I checked that’s the opposite of kidnapping.
So, let’s say the plaintiff does win. Will the Judge say here is your 1.5 million, and now I order you to pay it back to the hospital for all the care they rendered?
And ... How can illegals have the rights to our judicial system when they do not pay our taxes?
Sad story to be sure, but this is another reason why our medical costs are so high. Most hospitals cover millions of dollars of treatments for illegals who do not pay and then, to cover their costs, pass the costs on to us.
