ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Eighty-Seven Year Old Nun Allegedly Raped in Nursing Home
Why She Couldn’t Sue
In one of the most horrific stories of nursing home abuse we’ve read, an 87-year old nun maintains she was raped in a nursing home in her own bed. The physical evidence strongly corroborates her claim. The story is heart-breaking. The obstacles to any recovery against the nursing home afterwards are heart-breaking too. The Santa Clara County and California nursing home abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm Inc. represent elderly victims of nursing home abuse throughout California and believe nursing homes need to be held accountable for incidences of abuse within their premises. The nun’s story is one the public needs to hear. Her experience, and the obstacles to any recourse against the nursing home afterwards, shed a horrible light on what the Trump Administration and industry supporters are doing to elder nursing home abuse victims. If you or a loved one has been the victim of nursing home abuse in Santa Clara County or elsewhere in California call the Evans Law Firm today at (415(441-8669.
Nursing Home Admissions Contracts
When she first entered the nursing home some years before the alleged attack, the elderly nun signed the home’s admissions contract. Buried within the terms of the non-negotiable contract was a clause requiring all disputes she might have with the home to be submitted to arbitration. By signing the agreement she gave up her rights to bring a lawsuit against the nursing home. Seeing the inherent unfairness of such clauses (which millions of Americans are forced into) the Obama Administration had banned nursing homes from using forced arbitration clauses. In a real blow to millions of elderly nursing home patients, the Trump Administration overturned the ban. The facts of the nun’s horrific story show how repulsive the Trump Administration’s reversal is.
Legal advocates who work on behalf of seniors estimate that as many as 90% of large nursing home chains in the United States include arbitration agreements in their admissions contracts. With arbitration, there is no courthouse, no judge, and no jury. The nun’s case was arbitrated in a small conference room in a motel. The defense produced testimony and offered speculations that never would have been admitted in a court proceeding, according to the nun’s lawyer. At the conclusion of the arbitration, the arbitrator found that the nursing home could not be held not be held responsible for what may have happened to the resident. With that, the case was closed. Any appeal could only be raised in the arbitration itself. As a final indignity, the nun’s family had to cover the cost of the arbitration room.
Contact Us
If you or a loved one has suffered from nursing home abuse in Santa Clara County or any California county, contact the California nursing home abuse attorney Ingrid Evans at the Evans Law Firm at (415) 441-8669, or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. Our attorneys have wide experience with cases of nursing home abuse. We can help guide your case through a jury trial or toward an equitable settlement. We handle cases involving physical and financial elder abuse, qui tam and whistleblower law, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.
