California Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog
Fine print hidden in nursing home admissions contracts has stripped the constitutional rights of nursing home residents and their love ones for far too long. Amidst the extremely stressful process of being admitted into a nursing home, residents and their families are pushed into signing an agreement that waves their right to go to trial—regardless of if an event occurs that causes residents to suffer from severe neglect, serious injuries, death or sexual and physical abuse.
Instead of putting so much effort into protecting themselves when residents are harmed as a result of inadequate care, nursing homes should strive to provide caring professionals to older adults to help them live dignified and fulfilling lives.
Forced arbitration clauses aim to unjustly bar older adults from accessing the court system. Instead, they are forced into biased arbitration forums that operate behind closed doors. These forums, controlled by the industry’s selected arbitration firms, hold no accountability or appeals. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has the power to end forced arbitration for nursing homes that are funded by the public (which are most).
When you sign the petition, you are letting your voice join the thousands of others that urge CMS to ban forced arbitration clauses in nursing home contracts. The need to prioritize the rights of older adults over corporate interests has long been overdue. This is our chance to send CMS the message that the rights of America’s older adults should no longer be compensated for the protection of corporate gains.
