Appellate Court Rules Plaintiff Not Bound by Arbitration Agreement in Nursing Home Wrongful Death

A 2024 Illinois appellate decision distinguished between Survival Act claims and Wrongful Death Act claims when a nursing home seeks to enforce an arbitration agreement.

An Illinois appellate court recently reversed part of a lower court’s decision compelling arbitration in a nursing home wrongful death case. The case involved a woman who signed nursing home admission documents, including an arbitration agreement, as her mother’s agent under powers of attorney. After her mother later died from COVID-19, the daughter filed claims against the nursing home.

In Mikoff v. Unlimited Development, Inc., 2024 IL App (4th) 230513, the Fourth District Appellate Court affirmed the decision to send the decedent’s claims under the Survival Act to arbitration but reversed the decision to compel arbitration of the Wrongful Death Act claims.

Quick Answer

The ruling does not mean that nursing home arbitration agreements are automatically invalid. Instead, it recognizes an important distinction between claims belonging to the decedent’s estate and a wrongful death claim brought for the benefit of the decedent’s next of kin. In Mikoff, the court held that the Survival Act claims were subject to arbitration, while the Wrongful Death Act claims were not.

The Nursing Home Arbitration Dispute

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff’s mother was admitted to the defendant nursing facility on September 7, 2019. The plaintiff held both medical and financial powers of attorney for her mother and signed the admission documents in her representative capacity.

Among those documents was an arbitration agreement providing that disputes arising under the agreement would be submitted to binding arbitration rather than decided in court. The agreement also contained a provision addressing disputes that might not be subject to arbitration under applicable law.

The plaintiff’s mother later contracted COVID-19 while residing at the facility. She was hospitalized in August 2020 and died on August 17, 2020. In 2022, the plaintiff, acting as special administrator of her mother’s estate, filed a lawsuit alleging negligence and willful and wanton misconduct by the nursing home.

The Lower Court Compelled Arbitration

The nursing home defendants asked the Jersey County Circuit Court to stay the lawsuit and compel arbitration. The defendants argued that the arbitration agreement signed when the decedent was admitted to the facility required the claims to be resolved by an arbitrator.

The circuit court agreed and entered an order compelling arbitration of the plaintiff’s claims and staying the court proceedings while arbitration proceeded.

What Happened on Appeal?

The appellate court did not invalidate the arbitration agreement in its entirety. Instead, it separated the claims and held that the Survival Act claims could be sent to arbitration, while the Wrongful Death Act claims could not be compelled into arbitration on the basis of the agreement signed in connection with the decedent’s nursing home admission.

Why the Wrongful Death Claims Were Different

Illinois recognizes a legal distinction between a Survival Act claim and a Wrongful Death Act claim. Under 755 ILCS 5/27-6, certain causes of action belonging to the deceased person survive death, including claims seeking damages for personal injuries suffered by the decedent.

A wrongful death claim is different. Under 740 ILCS 180/1, a wrongful death action is brought when a person’s death results from a wrongful act, neglect, or default that would have supported a personal injury claim had the person survived.

The appellate court explained that the real parties in interest in a wrongful death claim are the decedent’s next of kin. The personal representative brings the action, but the wrongful death claim is not simply the decedent’s own claim carried forward after death.

Relying on Illinois Supreme Court precedent, including Carter v. SSC Odin Operating Co., 2012 IL 113204, the Fourth District concluded that the arbitration agreement did not bind the beneficiaries pursuing the wrongful death claims merely because the decedent had signed an agreement to arbitrate during her lifetime.

Two Different Types of Claims

Survival Act Claims

Claims that belonged to the decedent and survive the decedent’s death. In Mikoff, the appellate court affirmed the referral of these claims to arbitration.

Wrongful Death Claims

Claims brought for the benefit of the decedent’s next of kin. In Mikoff, the appellate court reversed the order compelling these claims into arbitration.

The Court Did Not Hold That All Nursing Home Arbitration Agreements Are Invalid

It is important not to read Mikoff v. Unlimited Development, Inc., 2024 IL App (4th) 230513 as holding that arbitration agreements used by nursing homes are categorically unenforceable. The court expressly affirmed arbitration of the Survival Act claims in the case.

The decision instead focused on who was bound by the arbitration agreement and the nature of the particular claims being asserted. The court’s analysis means that a nursing home’s arbitration agreement may affect claims differently depending on whether the claim belongs to the decedent’s estate or is a statutory wrongful death claim belonging to the decedent’s next of kin.

The court also discussed the Federal Arbitration Act and the arbitration agreement’s delegation provision. Because the plaintiff did not specifically challenge the delegation provision itself, the appellate court was required to give that provision effect under applicable federal arbitration precedent when addressing the issues before it.

What This Means for Families

A nursing home admission agreement should not automatically be treated as preventing every claim that may arise after a resident’s death. The precise language of the agreement, the capacity in which it was signed, the identity of the people bound by it, and the legal basis of the claims can all matter.

Nursing Home Arbitration Agreements Can Be Complicated

Arbitration agreements are commonly included in nursing home admission paperwork. Whether a particular agreement can be enforced depends on the contract and the circumstances surrounding its execution, as well as the claims a plaintiff is attempting to bring.

Illinois courts have addressed a number of disputes involving nursing home arbitration agreements, including questions concerning authority, unconscionability, the scope of arbitration provisions, the effect of a resident’s death, and whether heirs or other parties can be bound by an agreement they did not personally sign.

The Illinois Nursing Home Care Act also provides residents with statutory rights. For example,210 ILCS 45/2-101 provides that nursing home residents may not be deprived of rights, benefits, or privileges guaranteed by state or federal law solely because they reside in a facility.

Talk to a Decatur, IL Nursing Home Abuse Attorney Today

Patel Law, PC represents the interests of plaintiffs in lawsuits involving nursing home negligence, wrongful death, and serious injuries. If you have lost a loved one or have been injured because of negligent nursing care, call our Decatur personal injury lawyers right away to schedule a free consultation and learn more about how we can help.