Patrick Miller, a Robertson County resident, was 33 years old when the motorcycle he was riding collided head-on with a pickup truck.
His injuries were so severe he was airlifted directly from the scene to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where surgeons would try to save his mangled legs.
Two weeks and three surgeries later, on Nov. 5, 2010, Miller, who had no health insurance, was discharged and sent home. But only two days after that, he was rushed back to Vanderbilt with an infection so severe his right leg had to be amputated above the knee.
In a suit now working its way through circuit court in Nashville, attorneys for Miller have charged that their client was discharged prematurely. And they say it’s part of a broader pattern at Vanderbilt that happens to people who aren’t able to pay for the care they need.
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“The defendant,” the suit charges, “engaged in conduct that is known as patient dumping, a shocking and outrageous practice, which is defined as the premature discharge of indigent patients from hospitals for economic reasons.”
Under federal regulations, hospitals are required to inform Medicare patients at the time of admission that they have a right to file an appeal if they feel they are being discharged prematurely. But that specific rule does not apply to patients like Miller who have no insurance or no government-backed coverage such as Medicaid.
Date: September 24, 2013