OTLA Trial Lawyer Fall 2021

47 Trial Lawyer • Fall 2021 My second favorite story of avoiding an arbitration agreement is when I flipped through the agreements and saw “declines to sign at this time” written on the signature line of the arbitration agree- ment. Either my client was savvy enough to know she didn’t have to sign it, or, more likely, someone told her she didn’t have to, because the notice that she didn’t have to sign wasn’t written in the agree- ment. In what I’ve heard, it’s rarely the admission coordinator at the facility of- fering this kind of advice, and, more commonly, I hear residents and their representatives feel passively obligated to sign. After all, it’s part of the admissions packet with a blank line that says “resi- dent’s signature.” So often residents and families are overwhelmed with the prospect of mov- ing into a care facility that the paperwork is just one more scary hurdle to get through, and they do so mindlessly. I find it most often that family law and elder law attorneys who have the most oppor- tunity to jump in and advise families on the nature of these agreements before they’re signed. Family lawyers can advise on this, or call us to help. I’ve only heard a few happenstance stories of these agree- ments being reviewed by the kind of attorney who can advise on the conse- quences of arbitration versus trial, but the more we can talk to people before they ever need to contact an elder abuse lawyer, the better. Removing hurdles I’ve also been happy to introduce this material to the Oregon Senior Referral Agency Association (OSRAA), an orga- nization of professionals who help make referrals and housing placements for se- niors in need. Surprisingly, they’d never heard of the idea that their clients don’t have to sign mandatory arbitration clauses — admittedly, they’re not in the business of reviewing the residency agree- ments as part of the placement process. Nevertheless, they were inspired to hear such a thing, and excited to share the information with their clients, informa- tion that will empower residents to know their rights and be able to enforce them. I spend a lot of time working to smooth the path to justice for victims of elder abuse and neglect. There are already so many barriers and limitations in their cases. If we can remove the unnecessary hurdle of fighting arbitration clauses after they’ve been signed, we have a greater chance of getting the justice our clients deserve. KristenWest McCall is a partner at Pickett Dummigan McCall LLP, 210 SW Mor- rison St., 4th Floor, Portland, OR 97204. The firm specializes in catastrophic per- sonal injury, products liability, third-party workers compensation claims, medical malpractice and nursing home negligence. McCall is an OTLA Guardians member at the Guardians Club Plus level. You can find her at kristen@pdm.legal or 503-223- 7770.