Nursing Home Lawsuits Vs. Arbitration More and more people are giving up their right to file nursing home lawsuits
if their loved ones, placed in the care of nursing homes, are abused – physically, mentally, financially or even sexually. While some of these people are simply not aware that they are
giving up their right to sue in case of nursing home negligence or nursing home injury or abuse, most are just forced to sign anyways, because of their desperate need to find a place for their loved ones to stay!
“Mandatory Arbitration” In Nursing Home Contracts
Nursing homes have been including a “binding arbitration” clause in their contracts. The justification for doing this is that arbitration is cheaper for the defendants and plaintiffs,
than regular nursing home lawsuits, which allows them to concentrate on the care of the residents rather than worry about litigations. What this does for the patients, however, is
that they can no longer claim adequate justice, in case the nursing home fails to keep its side of the bargain – even in cases of the death of the residents!
Recent times have seen a hike in the number of claims against nursing homes, while the average cost of settlement for the nursing homes has decreased. Critics strongly advocate that nursing
home lawsuits should only be handled by courts and not by third-party arbiters.
Senators Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) and Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) have introduced legislation, prohibiting nursing homes from asking their patients to sign an arbitration agreement in their service
contract. The American Arbitration Association and The American Health Lawyers Association are both of the view that abuse cases at care centers should only be settled through nursing home
lawsuits.
