Judge sides with woman over nursing home arbitration agreement, but review pending

May 10—A judge agreed with Connie Lyell that the nursing home where her mother, Dorothy Mae Watts, lived at the end of her life failed to prove Watts knowingly relinquished her rights, but it will still be an issue for the Court of Appeals to decide.

Superior Court Judge J. Wade Padgett ruled last month that an arbitration agreement Watts signed in April 2013 after moving into PruittHealth Augusta was "unconscionable and unenforceable" because of the way Watts' signature was obtained.

On behalf of her mother's estate, Lyell filed a Richmond County Superior Court lawsuit last year against PruittHealth Augusta alleging that negligent care led to a broken leg and later her mother's death in 2018 at age 81.

Although the judge ruled in Lyell's favor on the motion, on April 26 he granted the nursing home permission to seek immediate appellate review of that decision.

Attorneys for PruittHealth Augusta have denied any negligence in care. They also sought for the case to be sent to an arbitrator because of the arbitration agreement Watts signed on her first day at the nursing home.

In his April 20 order, Padgett wrote that if PruittHealth's policy had been followed to ensure each patient or their representative received a copy of the signed arbitration agreement, his ruling might have been different. Ensuring such a copy is provided is important because the patient had 30 days to revoke the arbitration agreement. But no copy was given to Lyell, who had power of attorney to serve as her mother's financial representative, or to Watts. It was obvious the nursing home knew of Lyell's status because there was a signature for her name on the arbitration form, Padgett wrote.

Lyell authorized her attorneys with Connor & Connor to pursue litigation fighting arbitration. Lyell doesn't believe her mother would knowingly sign an agreement giving up rights without seeking her counsel, she told The Augusta Chronicle in March. Lyell talked to her mother on the phone at least twice a day, spent time with her after every workday, and shared dinner every Friday. Lyell said she also took care of all of her mother's bills and paperwork.

Lyell's attorneys contend the process of obtaining consent was dishonest and designed to deceive patients to waive their constitutional right to a jury trial. They contend the agreement was unconscionable and unenforceable.

The issue of arbitration in Georgia isn't settled legally yet, Caleb Connor said, and he expected Lyell's case to need appellate review.

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