Local Suit Heads To Ga. Supreme Court

The Georgia Supreme Court hears a case involving a Toccoa nursing home.

Oral arguments in the case of United Health Services of Georgia, Inc. et al. v. Norton et al. were heard Tuesday morning at the Georgia Supreme Court.

According to information provided by the court, PruittHealth, Inc. is appealing a Georgia Court of Appeals decision allowing a man’s wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of his deceased wife to proceed in court against one of its nursing homes, even though his wife had signed an arbitration agreement when she entered the home.

Court documents state that from April 2013 until her death in April 2014, Lola Norton lived at PruittHealth-Toccoa nursing home, which is owned and managed by United Health Services of Georgia, Inc.

Statements made in court documents claim that while in the facility, Lola Norton allegedly suffered injuries and harm, including falls, fractures, weight loss, and ultimately death.

Following her death, her husband, Bernard Norton through his son and power of attorney, Kim Norton, filed a lawsuit in Stephens County Superior Court, claiming several causes of action including wrongful death, and alleging that all of Lola’s injuries and death were the result of the nursing home’s inadequate care and inadequate staff.

The lawsuit was against PruittHealth, United Health Services and seven other defendants who are affiliates or employees of PruittHealth.

In response, the defendants filed a motion asking the court to dismiss the case, or in the alternative, to stay the proceedings and compel arbitration.

The trial court granted their motion and compelled the entire case and all its claims to arbitration, but Norton and his family appealed, and the Court of Appeals partially reversed the trial court’s ruling.

United Health Services, PruittHealth and the others now appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court, which has agreed to review the case to determine whether an arbitration agreement signed by a person during her lifetime, which binds her and her estate to arbitration in the event of a dispute, is enforceable against her beneficiaries in a wrongful death action.

Citing federal law and a number of state cases, the nursing home’s attorneys claim Georgia appellate courts have recognized the power of a deceased person during her life to enter a settlement agreement that will be binding on future wrongful death beneficiaries.

However, attorneys for the Nortons argue Lola Norton’s wrongful death beneficiaries were not parties to the arbitration agreement she had signed during her lifetime and she did not have the authority to send her wrongful death beneficiaries’ claims to arbitration.

According to court documents, rulings typically come about six months following the oral arguments.