What to do about your Virginia nursing home arbitration agreement

So you are concerned about signing an arbitration agreement before you place a family member in a Virginia nursing home or assisted living facility.  Or, you are worried that because you signed an arbitration agreement you won’t get the justice and compensation your loved one deserves after a nursing home death or case of abuse or neglect.

 

You are right to be concerned.  Nursing home arbitration agreements exist primarily to protect nursing homes from big lawsuits.  If they do something horribly wrong that leads to a resident suffering abuse, neglect or even death – they don’t want to be taken to court and forced to pay a big payout.

 

So what can you do about that arbitration agreement?

• If you are looking for a nursing home or assisted living facility, make sure you take time to read all of the paperwork you are asked to sign.  There is probably an arbitration agreement or clause in there somewhere.
• Before you sign, ask if you can remove the clause.
• If the nursing home won’t let you remove the clause, you may want to ask an attorney to review the paperwork before you sign.
• If you do sign – or if you have already signed – a nursing home arbitration agreement, you still have rights.  You may be able to opt out of the agreement, especially if your family member is hurt or killed because of the facility’s negligence.

 

Don’t let the Virginia nursing home push you around – get help from one of our experienced Virginia nursing home abuse & neglect attorneys as soon as possible.  Just remember that time is of the essence, and you may lose some of your rights if you wait too long.