Failure to Ensure Residents Understood Arbitration Agreements
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that residents understood the binding arbitration agreements they were asked to sign, as required by facility policy. For one resident with intact cognition, review of records showed she signed the agreement, but during interview, she stated she did not watch the explanatory video and did not understand what she was signing. For another resident, also with intact cognition, review of the signed agreement revealed a signature that did not match her usual signature style, as it lacked her middle initial, which she consistently used on other documents. This resident did not recall signing the agreement and stated she would not have signed it if she had understood its contents. Staff interviews confirmed that the explanatory video was available, but there was no evidence that the residents had viewed it or that the agreement was explained in a manner they understood. Additionally, the Admissions Director who signed one of the agreements was no longer employed at the facility, and the facility policy required that the arbitration agreement be explained to residents or their representatives in a form and manner they understand. These findings affected two of three residents reviewed for arbitration agreements.