Opinion ID: 1802098
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Whether a Statutory Duty of Care Is Owed by a Nursing Home Administrator or Licensee to Nursing Home Patients.

Text: ¶ 12. The Plaintiffs also argue Mississippi statutes and regulations charge administrators and licensees with a duty of care owed to nursing home residents. The Plaintiffs cite Miss.Code Ann. Sections 43-11-1, et seq., Rules, Regulations, and Minimum Standards for Institutions for the Aged and Infirm, and Miss.Code Ann. Sections 73-17-1, et seq., asserting these statutes and regulations establish such a duty. ¶ 13. An institution for the aged or infirm is required to obtain a license in order to operate legally in the state of Mississippi. Miss.Code Ann. § 43-11-5. The purpose of the licensing provisions is to insure safe, sanitary and reasonably adequate care of individuals while under the care of nursing home facilities. Miss. Code Ann. § 43-11-3. The chapter also mandates penalties for any person operating a nursing home without a license. Miss.Code Ann. § 43-11-25. The statute gives the Mississippi State Department of Health the authority to grant and revoke such licenses, as well as promulgate regulations in order to promote adequate care for nursing home patients. Miss.Code Ann. § 43-11-7 through § 43-11-13. These regulations are entitled Rules, Regulations and Minimum Standards for Institutions for the Aged or Infirm (Minimum Standards). Miss.Code Ann. § 43-11-13. Sections 73-17-1 et seq., set forth licensure requirements for an individual, whether or not he has an ownership interest, who serves to perform the administrative functions of a nursing home, including the decisions involved with planning or directing the nursing home. Miss.Code Ann. § 73-17-11; Miss.Code Ann. § 73-17-5. The chapter also creates a nursing home board of administrators and explains the scope of authority granted to the board. Miss.Code Ann. § 73-17-7 through § 73-17-9. ¶ 14. The Minimum Standards, as mandated in section 43-11-13, list classifications, regulations, and standards a nursing home must follow. Pertinent parts of the Minimum Standards enumerate the responsibilities of both a nursing home administrator and licensee. ¶ 15. In reviewing statutes, this Court follows the long established rule that statutes that are in derogation of the common law are, as a general rule, strictly construed, not extending liability `beyond that which is clearly indicated by its express terms.' Warren v. Glascoe, 880 So.2d 1034, 1037 (Miss.2004) (quoting Houston v. Holmes, 202 Miss. 300, 303, 32 So.2d 138, 139 (1947)). We disagree with the Plaintiffs' contention. Neither of these licensing statutes expressly create a duty by a licensee or an administrator to residents of a nursing home; nor do we hold that a breach of a licensing statute supports a negligence action filed by a third party. See Wills v. De Kalb Area Retirement Ctr., 175 Ill.App.3d 833, 125 Ill.Dec. 657, 530 N.E.2d 1066, 1071-72 (1988) (where the state legislature did not expressly provide for a cause of action for the death of a nursing home patient by statute, the court would not authorize such an action under the statute). ¶ 16. The Plaintiffs also argue that the Minimum Standards provide a cause of action against an administrator and licensee. They cite Minimum Standards Section H, 408.2 (Amended August 12, 2004), which states: The residents' rights policies and procedures ensure that each resident admitted to the facility is encouraged and assisted, throughout his period of stay, to exercise his rights as a resident and as a citizen, and to this end may voice grievances, has a right of action for damages or other relief for deprivations or infringements of his right to adequate and proper treatment and care established by applicable statute, rule, regulation or contract, and to recommend changes in policies and services to facility staff and/or to outside representatives of his choice, free from restraint, interference, coercion, discrimination, or reprisal; (Emphasis added). We disagree with the Plaintiffs' contention. First, the clause does not specifically establish a right of action against a nursing homes' administrator or licensee. Second, the Plaintiffs fail to realize the limitation place on regulatory authority to create such a right. State boards and commissions are creatures of the Legislature and have no powers other than those delegated to it by the Legislature. Masonite Corp. v. State Oil & Gas Bd., 240 So.2d 446, 449 (Miss.1970) (State Oil and Gas Board has only the powers delegated to it by the Legislature). Cf. Oktibbeha County Bd. of Educ. v. Town of Sturgis, 531 So.2d 585, 589 (Miss. 1988) (county's board of supervisors has only the powers delegated to it by the legislature). The Minimum Standards issued by the State Board of Health are a result of the legislature's mandate to impose licensing requirements on nursing homes. As the scope of sections 43-11-1 et seq. is limited to licensing concerns, any duty (or inference thereof) created by the Minimum Standards is unenforceable. ¶ 17. Third, this Court's treatment of internal regulations does not comport with the Plaintiffs' argument. In Moore v. Mem'l Hosp., 825 So.2d 658, 660-62 (Miss. 2002), parents of a child who became ill following birth filed suit against several defendants, alleging medication the mother took during the pregnancy caused the child to suffer medical complications. Among the defendants was a pharmacy which dispensed the medication to the mother while she was pregnant. Id. On appeal to this Court, the parents argued the trial court erred when it granted summary judgment for of the pharmacy, because the pharmacy violated the State Board of Pharmacy's internal regulations. Id. at 665. We affirmed the trial court's ruling, finding that a violation of one of [the State Board of Pharmacy's] internal regulations, which may serve as evidence of negligence, does not, however, create a separate cause of action. The regulations do not establish a legal duty of care to be applied in a civil action. Id. Likewise, we hold that Minimum Standards, which serve as internal licensing regulations, do not create a separate cause of action nor establish a duty of care owed by nursing home administrators and licensees to nursing home patients.