If your loved one needs nursing home care in Oklahoma, you’re probably comparing facilities based on factors like location, quality of care, available medical providers, and cost. Experienced Oklahoma nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers recommend adding one more factor to your list: Choose a nursing home that does not require you or your loved one to sign away any legal rights.
This factor makes the list after allegations have arisen that several nursing homes throughout the state have been requiring patients and their families to sign away their right to sue the nursing home for negligence or other harm resulting from substandard care. Instead, these agreements state that the patient and family agree to submit to binding arbitration – a type of out-of-court settlement in which damages awards are frequently lower than the patient or family deserve.
The state’s Department of Human Services does not allow such an agreement to be enforceable. The requirement is prohibited by Oklahoma’s Nursing Home Care Act. Nonetheless, many nursing homes continue to include them and to argue that federal law allows them to require patients and families to sign.
Although arbitration agreements are commonly used in business, especially when it comes to negligence cases, arbitration is not always the best solution. The quicker process and lower costs come at a price: fewer opportunities to establish exactly what caused the harm your loved one suffered, fewer opportunities to raise public awareness and demand change, and a lower damages award that may not cover the care your loved one needs following serious injury. Always speak to an experienced attorney before signing any such agreement.
