Nursing Home Neglect Lawyer
If you are admitting a loved one into a nursing home or you are being admitted yourself, it can be overwhelming. And while you and I know that every individual deserves to be treated with respect and care when entering these facilities, you may be asked to fill out a procedural form but a pre-dispute arbitration agreement. Before filling out any of these agreements you should speak to a nursing home neglect lawyer in NJ, such as the ones available at Davis & Brusca, LLC.
This is because an arbitration clause is going to take away your right to hold the nursing home accountable by incorporating any and all potential negligence or wrongdoing. Pre-dispute arbitration agreements require you to give up this right before you are allowed to enter the nursing home, and you are giving up the rights before neglect takes place. Therefore, you will never have the opportunity to determine whether court is necessary or not if something happens to you.
It is important to keep in mind you do not have to sign this agreement when entering a nursing home. Talk to a nursing home neglect lawyer in NJ, if your nursing home is pressuring you into signing an arbitration clause of any kind.
Before signing an arbitration clause of any kind, especially a pre-dispute arbitration clause, you should understand what a dispute really is. A dispute is typically going to include any event in which you are harmed.
Examples of disputes are going to include receiving the wrong medication or dosage, developing bedsores or pressure oldsters as a result of neglect, suffering any injury that results from neglect such as falls and broken bones, having money or belongings stolen, being abused or assaulted by fellow residents or staff members and being sexually assaulted by anyone in the facility.
There are many reasons why you should not sign the agreement, and if you are seriously considering a pre-dispute arbitration clause, you should speak to a nursing home neglect lawyer in NJ. By signing this clause you will not be able to hold the nursing facility responsible for any of the wrongdoings, a private arbitrator and so the judge decides the outcome of any dispute, there is no jury, arbitration is not going to have to follow the rules of evidence and can introduce hearsay evidence against the resident.
Not only are those things true, but decisions are always final, you cannot appeal a decision that you or your family members disagree with. Decisions are always confidential as well said the facility does not maintain a record of public wrongdoing. The wrongdoings remain a secret, and this can lead to nursing homes hiding their abuse history.
Arbitration is a business, arbitrators are going to have a financial incentive to define the nursing home in the hope that the nursing home will give the arbitrator more business in the future. This means that residents of nursing homes with pre-dispute arbitration clauses are at a huge disadvantage, and arbitration is also far more expensive for residents to file a lawsuit in the courts.