Medical Malpractice Lawyers

From the Desk of a Nursing home Injury Lawyer in Cleveland: How Some Lawyers Challenge Arbitration Agreements

Arbitration agreements, clauses that protect nursing homes from being sued by their clients, are often buried in the fine print of complex contracts. Families may not even be aware of what they are signing. In some cases, the patients themselves may be illiterate or suffer from dementia. Judges have upheld them fairly consistently, as a basic principal of law is that once an agreement is signed, it is legally binding. Hence, it is always a good idea to have a nursing care contract reviewed by a nursing home injury lawyer in Cleveland before signing.

However, as highlighted in a recent article in the New York Times, some lawyers are asking judges to question these agreements under the argument that unless the family members had power of attorney, they lacked the authority to agree with arbitration in the first place. It would be taking advantage of a legal loophole, but on the other hand, arbitration agreements, by their very nature, are legal pit traps set to trap some of the most vulnerable members of our population.

It is an interesting approach, and we will have to see how it works out in the courts. In the meantime, be wary of signing any arbitration agreement in a care contract for your loved one. Often, they are worded in complicated legal jargon that disguises their true meaning. Always have your contract reviewed with a nursing home injury lawyer in Cleveland before signing your full commitment.

Who is Held Accountable? Why No Fault Birth Injury Funds Risk Protecting the Guilty from Litigation by a Birth Injury Lawyer in Cleveland

No Fault Birth Injury Funds appear to offer a suitable solution to the question of how to pay for the care of a child born with birth injuries. Laws creating them have been passed in Florida and Virginia, and a proposed bill in Maryland has been modeled on those efforts. The fund would compensate families of babies born with birth injuries so they could forego the need for litigation through a birth injury lawyer, like the ones we have at our Cleveland practice. The bill has reportedly pitted hospitals and malpractice lawyers against each other.

Hospitals argue that care is reduced as a result of the large settlements given to birth injury victims.

“Maryland’s medical environment has worsened significantly over the last handful of years as a result, in part, due to several large awards in birth injury cases,” Maryland Hospital Association President and CEO Carmela Coyle told the Maryland Reporter. “Maryland hospitals and doctors and other providers are, in fact, deeply concerned that if the environment continues to worsen, access to care, in fact, will be reduced. We need a birth injury fund to address that threat.”

The malpractice legal community, on the other hand, argues that with the fund, families are robbed of their right to a jury trial and hospitals are not held accountable for their mistakes.

“Why are there 48 states of this great union that don’t have this fund? Are they all dumb?” Jonathan Schochor, a senior managing partner at Schochor, Federico and Staton told the Maryland Reporter. “Should we bring in 48 representatives of the other states to tell you what a bad idea it is to sail these kids down the river, strip them of their constitutional rights to a trial by jury and subject them to a group, an administrative law judge, who is admittedly not trained to make these decisions, to make a decision to undercompensate them?”

Holding the medical community responsible, however, is only one reason for hiring a birth injury lawyer in Cleveland. The most compelling reason found by our clients is securing a suitable financial future to help the child live a fulfilling life after the injury. The fund may provide one answer, but is it is indeed limited. Our experience confirms that if a case has strong legal standing, a family will likely secure a brighter settlement through the legal process that can better facilitate healing and a happier life.