Have you ever been asked to sign an Arbitration Agreement for any reason? Were you unsure exactly what you were signing?
This happens often in nursing home facilities, and can lead to a signee losing their rights to pursue legal action in the future.
In this blog, Tiano O’Dell’s Bill Tiano will discuss what an Arbitration Agreement is exactly and why you shouldn’t sign it, especially if you are entering a nursing facility.
What is a Nursing Home Arbitration Agreement?
As part of the admission process to a nursing home, there is some paperwork that has to be signed. In this paperwork there will be an arbitration provision or an arbitration clause that will state that if something happens to you, if you are injured by the gross negligence of the nursing home or its staff, you will have to litigate your case before a defense attorney who gets paid to make these decisions.
What can happen if you sign it?
In most cases, they will not give the plaintiff a fair award for a lot of reasons. First off, this is the way they make their living; if they give a fair award to a plaintiff, the defendant or the nursing home attorney will be less likely to request them in the future. Also, they may have defended nursing homes in the past, in which case there is an automatic bias, whether they recognize it or not, against an injured plaintiff.
Do I have to sign the agreement to be admitted into the facility?
You do not have to sign that document, and if you don’t sign it they cannot deny you admission to the facility. That’s a state law. So, when they ask you about it or when you see it, do not sign it. That also goes for the medical power of attorney. If the medical power of attorney signs for an incapacitated person it will be binding on that incapacitated person. So, if you are admitting a loved one to a facility, you must make sure that document does not get signed.
If you have a loved one that you believe has suffered from nursing home negligence and has signed an Arbitration Agreement, please reach out to Tiano O’Dell for a free consultation. Tiano O’Dell will work with you on the matter to ease your mind and get justice for your loved one.