The Dickson Firm, L.L.C. represents nursing home residents and their families in cases against the owners and the operators of nursing homes throughout the State of Ohio.
In this episode of the Justice for Residents podcast, host Rob Schenk interviews Ohio nursing home attorney Blake Dickson about strategies for challenging arbitration agreements in nursing home abuse and neglect cases. Rather than focusing on common arguments about a resident's capacity or the authority of the person signing the agreement, Dickson discusses less conventional but effective legal approaches.
Watch this episode of the Justice for Residents podcast here.
Listen to Audio of this episode of the Justice for Residents podcast here.
A key strategy is scrutinizing whether the defendants seeking to enforce arbitration are actually parties to the contract. Dickson explains that many nursing home corporations, management companies, and owners are neither named in nor sign the arbitration agreement, making it difficult for them to enforce it. He recommends deposing admissions staff to establish they lack authority to bind unrelated corporate entities.
Dickson also criticizes modern electronic admissions, where vulnerable residents are asked to sign lengthy contracts on tablets without any meaningful opportunity to read or understand them. He suggests examining electronic signature metadata, which can reveal that dozens of pages were "signed" in seconds, undermining claims that the agreement was properly reviewed or explained.
Another important avenue is enforcing federal regulations governing nursing home arbitration agreements. Facilities must explain arbitration in a way residents understand, ensure signing is voluntary, and present arbitration as a separate agreement rather than a condition of admission. Dickson argues that failures to comply with these requirements support challenges based on unconscionability or contract invalidity.
Procedurally, Dickson recommends requesting limited discovery before arbitration is enforced, including admissions documents and depositions of admissions personnel. He also encourages attorneys to identify contract provisions that may terminate arbitration obligations, challenge ambiguous language in adhesion contracts, and argue that wrongful death claims often fall outside arbitration.
Ultimately, Dickson emphasizes that arbitration agreements should receive careful judicial scrutiny because they are presented to vulnerable individuals during highly stressful admissions. He concludes that arbitration is not automatically favored under the law; courts must first determine whether a valid, enforceable agreement was actually formed.
