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A health care surrogate is not statutorily empowered to consent to arbitration of medical claims under Kentucky law, because an arbitration agreement does not qualify as a "health care decision," according to the Kentucky Court of Appeals.
In Kindred Hospitals Ltd. Partnership v. Luttrell, No. 2006-CA-000221-MR, 2007 WL 2141810 (Ky. Ct. App. July 27, 2007), Luttrell, as administratrix of her mother Duncan's estate, brought suit against Kindred for Duncan's wrongful death while in Kindred's care. Kindred sought to compel arbitration of Luttrell's claims, maintaining that Luttrell, with authority from and on behalf of Duncan, signed an agreement to arbitrate such claims at the time of Duncan's admission.
The Court declined to find any agency relationship between Luttrell and Duncan that would have given Luttrell authority to consent to an arbitration agreement on Duncan's behalf. The Court refused to find actual, implied or apparent authority for Luttrell to act for Duncan, noting that Luttrell's alleged "authority" over Duncan's business and financial matters constituted little more than the power to run errands, that consenting to an arbitration agreement was not arguably within the scope of such limited authority, and that there was no evidence that Duncan's actions gave any appearance that Luttrell had authority in any other matters.
Kindred then argued that Kentucky statutory law gave Luttrell authority to make health care decisions for Duncan as a healthcare surrogate. The Court, however, held the statute to be inapplicable to arbitration agreements. The Court looked to the statutory definition of "health care decisions," and found it only encompassed procedures, treatments, or interventions. To the Court, an arbitration agreement did not qualify as a "health care decision," but only a "method parties to the agreement can use to resolve disputes." Therefore, a health care surrogate could not have statutory authority to bind the represented party to an arbitration agreement.
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