The Fourth District Court of Appeal of Florida recently held that an agreement providing for arbitration of claims brought under Florida’s Nursing Home Residents Act was valid and not unconscionable simply because it waived access to the courts to resolve claims under the Act. By way of background, during the admissions process to the nursing home the plaintiff executed an agreement to arbitrate all claims between the parties. While at the facility, the plaintiff was injured and sued the nursing home in circuit court for negligence. The trial court granted the defendant facility’s motion to compel arbitration under the terms of the arbitration agreement. The 4th DCA upheld the trial court’s decision and pointed out that had the Florida legislature wanted to stop parties from arbitrating claims under the Act, it would have created an express prohibition against it in the nursing home statute.
Please click on the following link to read the opinion: Slusser v. Life Care Centers of America
For more information on defending medical malpractice, nursing home and general liability matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at Citron & Associates, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.
