title: Shifting liability? when police officers 'drop off' a person in the ER.
abstract: Police layoffs in the present economic downturn may increase a law enforcement practice of leaving before the persons they bring to hospital ERs are evaluated by the clinical staff. In effect, says the author, they are transferring liability for the patient to the hospital and its security staff. Many hospitals, he reports, are unaware of the liability risks they are undertaking in such situations.
authors.affiliation: Security Services, Enloe Medical Center, Chico, CA, USA. john.white@enloe.org
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: White
mesh_terms: D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D016365:Liability, Legal; D016495:Police; D011329:Prisoners; D012637:Security Measures