Garcia v. HCR ManorCare LLC

44 Pa. D. & C.5th 16
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Berks County
DecidedNovember 10, 2014
DocketNo. 3-27281
StatusPublished

This text of 44 Pa. D. & C.5th 16 (Garcia v. HCR ManorCare LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Berks County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Garcia v. HCR ManorCare LLC, 44 Pa. D. & C.5th 16 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2014).

Opinion

SPRECHER, J.,

Defendants, HCR ManorCare, LLC, ManorCare of Sinking Spring PA, LLC d/b/a/ ManorCare Health Services — Sinking Spring, ManorCare Health Services, Inc. a/k/a ManorCare Health Services, LLC; Manor Care, Inc., HCR ManorCare, Inc., [18]*18HCR IV Healthcare, LLC, HCR III Healthcare, LLC, HCR II Healthcare, LLC, HCR Healthcare, LLC, HCRMC Operations, LLC, HCR ManorCare Operations II, LLC, and Heartland Employment Services, LLC, appeal the order dated September 2, 2014, which overruled in part and sustained in part, their preliminary objections to plaintiff’s complaint. This opinion is filed pursuant to Pa. R.A.P. 1925.

FACTS

The facts gleaned from the record are as follows.

Gloria Marie Eckert (hereinafter, Patient) was a resident of defendant ManorCare of Sinking Spring, Pa, LLC d/b/a ManorCare Health Services — Sinking Spring (ManorCare) from September 19,2012 to October 2,2012. The remaining ManorCare defendants own, operate, and/ or manage nursing homes, including ManorCare. Patient then became a patient at Kindred Transitional Care & Rehabilitation—Wyomissing (Kindred) from October 11, 2012 through November 7, 2012. The remaining Kindred defendants own, operate, and/or manage nursing homes, including Kindred. Plaintiff filed a medical professional liability action against all the defendants.

At the time of her residence at ManorCare, patient was incapable of independently providing for all of her daily care and personal needs without assistance. She had an 18 cm. surgical incision to her left hip with bruising s/p left femur fracture with ORIF on September 19, 2012. Plaintiff, Gloria J. Garcia, is patient’s daughter [19]*19and attorney-in-fact. Plaintiff alleges that the ManorCare defendants deprived patient of adequate care, treatment, food, water, and medication, and caused her to suffer numerous illnesses and injuries, including pneumonia, hypoxic hypercapnic respiratory failure, MRSA of the naves, VRE, poor hygiene, and severe pain.

Plaintiff’s complaint contains six counts: Count One — negligence against ManorCare defendants; Count Two — negligence per se for violations of neglect of a care-dependent Person, 18 Pa. C.S.A. § 2713 against ManorCare; Count Three — negligence per se for violations of the Pennsylvania Older Adults Protective Services Act, 35 P.S. § 10225.101 et seq. against ManorCare. Count Four is a negligence claim against the Kindred defendants. Count Five is negligence per se for violations of neglect of a Care-Dependent Person, 18 Pa. C.S.A. § 2713 against the Kindred defendants, and Count Six is a claim of negligence per se for violations of the Pennsylvania Older Adults Protective Services Act, 35 P.S. § 10225.101 et seq. against the Kindred defendants.

All defendants filed preliminary objections. This court shall address only ManorCare’s preliminary objections in this opinion. First preliminary objection was a motion to enforce the arbitration agreement (agreement) executed by patient’s husband, Robert Eckert (hereinafter, Husband), who had a power of attorney for patient on the date of her admission to ManorCare. Second preliminary objection was a motion to strike claims of ordinary negligence. Third preliminary objection was a motion to strike claims [20]*20of negligence per se pursuant to the neglect of a Care-Dependent Person statute. Fourth preliminary objection was a motion to strike claim for negligence per se pursuant to the Older Adults Protective Services Act. Fifth preliminary objection was an objection to scandalous and impertinent matter. Sixth preliminary objection was a motion to strike allegations of unnamed agents and theories of liability based on allegedly tortious conduct of her physicians, acting as agents. Seventh preliminary objection was a motion to strike plaintiff’s complaint for her failure to delineate the allegations that are being brought against each defendant. Eighth preliminary objection was a motion to strike allegations of outrageous conduct to justify punitive damages.

In rendering a decision on the enforceability of the agreement, this court reviewed the pleadings, briefs, argument of counsel, the transcript of patient’s deposition, the transcript of husband’s deposition, and the transcript of defendant’s nursing home administrator.

Patient had given husband a durable power of attorney on September 5, 2006. On November 12, 2012, patient rescinded husband’s power of attorney and appointed her daughter and plaintiff, Gloria J. Garcia, as her power of attorney because patient believed that plaintiff was more stable and knowledgeable than husband who was getting older and forgetful (patient, 34). Patient was in pain on the day of her admission to ManorCare, so husband signed the admission paperwork. Husband never showed her a copy of the documents which he had signed. Although husband [21]*21had a power of attorney for patient, patient signed papers whenever she had been able to do so.

Husband testified that he was bom on December 10, 1927. He thought that his street address was 1488 Gregory Avenue, but it is actually 1440 Gregory Avenue (husband, 9). On the date of the deposition, patient and husband had lived at this address for approximately three years. Husband did not graduate from high school and does not have a GED (husband, 14). He testified that he had never been appointed as patient’s power of attorney (husband, 17). He did not remember seeing any of the admission documents, including agreement, before his deposition on May 21, 2014 (husband, 18). He also did not recall anything the administrator, Lynette Seiler Wirth, had told him during the admission process. He simply “took her word” about what he was supposed to sign (husband, 48).

Lynette Seiler Wirth is ManorCare’s nursing home administrator. She fills in for the admissions coordinator when she is absent. She did the paperwork on patient’s admission to ManorCare. Patient declined to sign the paperwork for her admission because she was too tired. Husband was able to execute the paperwork two days after patient’s admission (Wirth, 20). Ms. Wirth testified that husband had been very alert and had asked several questions while signing patient’s admission documents. She had not known at the time that husband had a power of attorney for patient (Wirth, 23). Husband had told her that he did not have a power of attorney for his wife (Wirth, 24).

[22]*22Ms. Wirth believed that husband had the right to sign the paperwork because he was patient’s spouse (Wirth, 25). She does not review the agreement with the patients or their representatives. She puts the agreement in front of the people, excuses herself, and makes copies of the patients’ insurance cards; during her absence the people can read the agreement (Wirth, 27). Patients are not allowed to negotiate the terms of the agreement (Wirth, 35).

Based on this evidence, this court overruled the preliminary objection to enforce the agreement and sustained the remaining preliminary objections without prejudice. Defendants filed a timely appeal.

ISSUES

Defendants raise the following issues in their concise statement of errors complained of on appeal.

1. This court erred in overruling defendants’ preliminary objection seeking to enforce the agreement signed by husband on patient’s behalf.

2.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
44 Pa. D. & C.5th 16, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/garcia-v-hcr-manorcare-llc-pactcomplberks-2014.