Nursing Homes attempt to unlevel the playing field by imposing harsh, one-sided arbitration agreements as part of the admission process to a nursing home. When a family member admits a resident to a nursing home, usually they are in desperate need of finding a location where their loved one can get the care the family can no longer provide. So, when arbitration agreements are presented on a take-it-or-leave-it basis, many times family members sign away their resident’s right to a jury in an effort to secure much needed nursing care.

What happens next is even worse. Nursing Homes then attempt to enforce arbitration, even when the arbitration agreement is not valid. Often, when the trial court strikes down the agreements, they attempt to tie the parties up in a lengthy appeal process. If arbitration is valid, nursing homes often seek to impose arbitrators that are friendly to the nursing home facilities. The arbitration process in the context of healthcare is in need of massive reform and is a minefield for nursing home residents and their families. The attorneys at Williams Newman Williams fight these nursing home arbitration agreements everyday, often making new, good law for nursing home residents in Mississippi.

For example, in Magee Community Care Center v. Perkins, 2021 WL 1380800, 2019-CA-01412-COA (April 13, 2021), the nursing home attempted to enforce an arbitration agreement signed by a clearly demented resident in a wrongful death case. The trial court and the Mississippi Court of Appeals agreed with the attorneys at Williams Newman Williams, affirming the denial of arbitration in a wrongful death nursing home case and requiring the parties to proceed forward in front of a jury. Other tricks that nursing home defense attorneys try is to remove the corporate defendants so as to protect their pockets from responsibility. Other tricks are to hide nursing home money and claim they are “near-bankruptcy.” Other tricks are improper removal to federal court of cases.

Other cases where Williams Newman Williams have challenged these harsh arbitration agreements with the Mississippi Supreme Court and Mississippi Court of Appeals and won include:

Durant Healthcare, LLC v. Garrette, 362 So. 3d 64 (Miss. Ct. App. 2022) (affirming denial of motion to compel arbitration of a nursing home resident that lacked capacity).

Belhaven Senior Care v. Smith, 359 So. 3d 612 (Miss. 2023) (affirming denial of motion to compel arbitration of a nursing home resident where the daughter did not qualify as a healthcare surrogate).

Manhattan Nursing and Rehabilitation Center v. Hawkins (Miss. 2026) (affirming denial of motion to compel arbitration of a nursing home resident where the daughter did not have authority as a health care surrogate to sign the admission agreement containing an arbitration agreement).

Stanford v. Brandon Nursing and Rehabilitation Center (S.D. Miss. 2024) (denying a motion to compel arbitration where the family member did not qualify as a healthcare surrogate).

The attorneys at Williams Newman Williams have a nursing home litigation team that is 100% devoted to nursing home cases, handling a large number of nursing home cases in the state of Mississippi. We are very familiar with the tricks these nursing homes try during the litigation process. These attorneys know how to steer your family through the minefield of litigation in a very specific and technical area of the law.

Paul Williams and Courtney Williams practiced nursing home defense law for years. These attorneys are very familiar with the oft-familiar tricks tried by defense attorneys and will stop them from happening to your family. It is very important to bring your nursing home case to a firm that not only practices in this area, but concentrates in this area every single day of the week.