Attorney warns of arbitration contracts for nursing home residents

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – An Oklahoma attorney wants to send out a warning to people looking into placing a loved one in a nursing home.

Mark Cox is an attorney in Oklahoma City. He takes on nursing home cases.

He said he has seen more instances of facilities slipping arbitration paperwork into contracts, which would not allow a resident to sue the facility should something go wrong.

It happened to Darrell Thomas. Up until a few years ago, Thomas was healthy and happy. A sudden heart attack changed everything.

"After my heart surgery, they had put in 23 stents," said Thomas.

His heart condition and medical complications left him paralyzed. Thomas was transferred to a nursing home for rehabilitation. Heavily medicated for several weeks, Thomas said he did not remember anyone placing contracts in front of him.  

"When I look back at my signature, it was like a little kid had signed something, like just scribbled just a portion of it, due to the medication," said Thomas.

Inside page after page of paperwork was an arbitration contract that he had no idea was there. Thomas claims the contract was never explained to him.

Weeks later, he started getting sick.

"Sometimes it would be hours and hours before anybody would come to assist me or help me," said Thomas.

He was left with massive bed sores on his backside and feet. He has filed a lawsuit against the nursing home.

"You sign, not knowing you just signed your right away to file a lawsuit," said Cox.

 Cox said a recent Supreme Court ruling impacted Oklahoma’s arbitration laws, which did not allow for arbitration, but federal law allows certain instances.

"Before then, the arbitration issue wasn't as forefront. Now it is very forefront and I'm afraid we're going to be seeing this all the time," said Cox.

He said he wanted to warn anyone going into a nursing home, as well as their families, to be aware.  

"If I could have everybody in the state of Oklahoma who either is planning on being in a nursing home or putting a loved one in a nursing home because they don't really have a choice otherwise, to no, do not sign a nursing home arbitration agreement," said Cox. "By all means, look at what you're signing and when you see the word arbitration on it, you hand it back and say, we're not interested in that, and that's that."

The lawsuit involving Thomas is still ongoing, but he said he hoped that by telling his story, he could prevent others from having to take legal action.