Broemmer v. Abortion Services of Phoenix
Supreme Court of Arizona
840 P.2d 1013 (Ariz. 1992)
Melinda Kay Broemmer (plaintiff), lacking commercial experience and a high-school-educated patient under severe emotional distress about her pregnancy, signed intake paperwork at Abortion Services of Phoenix (ASP) (defendant) that included a binding arbitration clause, without knowing what arbitration meant. The abortion procedure resulted in a punctured uterus, and Broemmer sued for malpractice. The trial court granted ASP summary judgment based on the arbitration clause, and the court of appeals affirmed, finding it was an adhesion contract but still enforceable. Broemmer appealed.
Whether a medical adhesion contract requiring a patient to waive her right to a jury trial for malpractice claims falls within the reasonable expectations of that patient.