The case of a patient who refuses or fails to leave the hospital upon discharge by the attending physician shall be reviewed by two physicians licensed to practice medicine in this State, one of whom may be the attending physician. If in the opinion of the physicians, the patient should be discharged as cured or as no longer needing treatment or for the reason that treatment cannot benefit the patient’s case or for other good and sufficient reasons, the patient’s refusal to leave shall constitute a trespass. The patient shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor. (1965, c. 258; 1983, c. 775, s. 1; 1993, c. 539, s. 959; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c).)

Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 131E-90

  • Hospital: means any facility which has an organized medical staff and which is designed, used, and operated to provide health care, diagnostic and therapeutic services, and continuous nursing care primarily to inpatients where such care and services are rendered under the supervision and direction of physicians licensed under Chapter 90 of the N. See North Carolina General Statutes 131E-76
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3