One of the major concerns that many individuals have had when it comes to living in a nursing home is the loss of legal standing. However, it was recently ruled that entering a nursing home that accepts Medicare or Medicaid dollars of any sort cannot take away an individual or a family’s right to sue in a court. In the past, nursing homes often required individuals to sign waivers taking away their right to sue. Instead, all disputes of this nature would have gone through an arbitration process. Potential offenses include neglect, harassment, assault, and even wrongful death. The court decided that if a nursing home accepts funding from any sort of public health insurance center, the nursing home is no longer allowed to restrict an individual or a family’s right to sue the nursing home in a court of law.
The new ruling has been hailed as a “breakthrough” in terms of senior rights. Many people were not even aware of the fact that this restriction had existed, and oftentimes, families didn’t know about the restriction on this until it was too late and they were trying to find justice for some sort of mistreatment. Unfortunately, for many a nursing home is the first choice and the papers that they sign upon having a loved one admitted are just a matter of course. It’s not until after the fact that the reality of the situation sets in.
What can we take away from this? First, the big news is the fact that the elderly people that are in need have just won a major victory when it comes to preserving their rights. Nursing homes and other institutions of long term senior care will now be held to a much higher standard when it comes to the treatment of the people that they are charged with caring for. This is really good news, and even though there is still more work that needs to be done in this area, it’s a huge step forward.
Next, we should know that any type of senior care that we might choose for a loved one or for ourselves needs to be highly scrutinized. Yes, this is a big win for many, but it isn’t an all inclusive win. For one, the ruling only applies to nursing homes that receive federal funding. There are many privately owned institutions, and they are not yet included in this ruling. Also, there is strong momentum for this ruling to expand beyond the senior care business and into other businesses that restrict client rights. Similar rulings could also occur in the education and finance sectors in the future, for example. That all remains to be seen.
This new ruling will go into effect beginning November 28th, 2016.
Please be advised that this is not a legal commentary or a professional appraisal of the new laws. Instead, it is a news update that might be of interest to those that we work with. If you do have any further questions about this or want to learn more, please consult with a knowledgeable attorney.
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