Nursing Home Arbitration

Will courts enforce arbitration agreements covering wrongful death claims? Generally, yes, if the patient signed the agreement. But what if a family member signed on the patient's behalf? The New York Times discusses: Plaintiffs' lawyers "argued that unless family members had power of attorney, they lacked the authority to agree to arbitration." This argument often works: "Appeals courts across the country have been throwing out arbitration agreements signed by family members of nursing home residents." Basically an agency law question, although with undertones of unconscionability.