Elder Law

Negotiated Risk Agreements in Nursing Home Contracts

By Levin & Perconti

Steve Levin, one of the Founding partners of our nursing home law firm of Levin & Perconti was recently the legal expert on an episode of the RocketLawyer?s podcast. In it Steve discussed various legal issues that may affect everyone at one time or another.

He began by providing advice on a legal concept known as ?assumption of risk.? The issue involves the possible circumstances where an individual may not recover for an injury if they specifically sign something where they admit to knowing that there is chance the activity may result in some personal harm. Steve explained that it is obviously important to fully read and understand all documents that you sign to ensure that you are not agreeing to something that you shouldn?t.

In the nursing home context many residents and their families are forced to sign documents when entering a nursing home?often called a ?negotiated risk agreement.? The facilities often use these agreements to try and avoid liability when a resident suffers an injury at the facility by having the signers waive their right to sue under certain circumstances.

Of course, under certain circumstances a court may allow a victim to pursue legal actions even where a something like a negotiated risk agreement was signed. Our attorneys often help residents sue nursing home violators regardless of these agreements when the nursing home has breached a standard of care or violated some governmental regulation leading to the resident?s harm.

However, it is precisely because many nursing facilities attempt to challenge resident?s right to sue that it is important to consult with expert nursing home lawyers for all matters related to injury or death of a resident. The attorneys at our firm have been helping residents and their families for over 25 years with these matters. Each day we continue to fight to ensure that facilities that break the law or provide inadequate care to residents are held responsible and forced to change their ways.

Please Click Here to listen to the entire podcast.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on November 01, 2010 (boomark / email).