Government
Judge dismisses lawsuit disputing translator rule for doctors, hospitals
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted March 28, 2005
A federal judge in California dismissed a lawsuit this month that challenged a rule requiring physicians and hospitals to provide translators for patients who are not fluent in English. The Pacific Legal Foundation plans to appeal the ruling. The group filed the complaint on behalf of individual doctors, the Assn. of American Physicians and Surgeons, and ProEnglish, a group that advocates English as the official U.S. language.
The lawsuit accuses the Health and Human Services Dept. of violating doctors' civil rights and interfering with the doctor-patient relationship by imposing the rule. Physicians who receive federal reimbursement are required to abide by the mandate.
U.S. District Judge Barry Moskowitz, based in San Diego, ruled that the plaintiffs did not have standing to present the challenge because they did not demonstrate that physicians had been or would be injured by the requirement.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/03/28/gvbf0328.htm.