Arbitration clauses are everywhere these days. These are sections within a contract – for a cell phone, for example – that require parties to resolve their dispute outside of the civil court system through an arbitration process.

Proponents of such clauses like to point to the cost savings by the parties, and how using them can relieve the burden on the courts’ systems in our country. However, arbitration clauses can have very negative consequences, particularly with respect to the confidentiality that many mandate. Confidentiality thus pushes embarrassing conduct from the public view by the large corporation that insists on the clause.

Take nursing homes and the corporations that run them. Arbitration clauses bind residents to confidential arbitration proceedings, allowing the corporation to keep private the sometimes egregious behavior that gives rise to claims.

To remedy this situation, on September 28, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services issued a rule that forbids nursing homes that receive federal funding from including such clauses into contracts with residents. As a result of this rule, nursing residents who suffer harm as a result of their stay at the nursing home can have their day in court, and allow a jury of their peers to determine what justice is.

Such claims can include things such as failing to protect residents from intentional assaults or failing to provide proper medical care that results in delays in treating bed sores.

This new rule should hopefully shine light on negligent nursing home practices, which hopefully will result in accountability, change, and greater safety for all nursing home patients.

You can read the NY Times article detailing this new rule here:

[U.S. Just Made It a Lot Less Difficult to Sue Nursing Homes](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/29/business/dealbook/arbitration-nursing-homes-elder-abuse-harassment-claims.html?smid=nytcore-ipad-share&smprod=nytcore-ipad&_r=0)