Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog
As our Baltimore nursing home attorneys reported in a recent blog, fighting forced arbitration in nursing homes has long been a problem, as many residents and families unknowingly sign away their right to seek justice when filling out complicated contracts for long-term resident care.
According to a recent report by the American Association for Justice (AAJ), systemic nursing home abuse and neglect is not revealed in many homes due to nursing home arbitration clauses found in the fine print of admission contracts—that residents and their families rarely see, not realizing that they are signing away their rights to access court.
The Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act of 2009 was introduced last year by Representative Linda Sanchez of California, and would eliminate forced arbitration clauses in nursing home and long-term care contracts. The act would reportedly provide that a pre-dispute arbitration agreement between a long-term care facility or nursing home and a resident or family member acting on the resident’s behalf, would not be valid or specifically enforceable.
Our Maryland nursing home neglect and abuse law firm is committed to ensuring that nursing home abuse and neglect victims and their loved ones receive the personal injury compensation they are owed. Contact Lebowitz & Mzhen today.
Civil Justice System Uncovers Abuse and Neglect of Elderly Americans, Kansas City.com/American Association for Justice, October 7, 2010
H.R. 1237 – Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act of 2009, Open Congress.org, February 26, 2009
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