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.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 131E-90
Authority of administrator; refusal to leave after discharge
Known as the Hospital Licensure Act
The act spans §§ 131E-75 to 131E-99 (38 sections).
1965, c. 258; 1983, c. 775, s. 1; 1993, c. 539, s. 959; 1994, Ex
Official source: North Carolina General Assembly. Reproduced from public-domain North Carolina statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.