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Author Archives: Adam Peck

 About Adam Peck

Adam J. Peck, ESQ is a principal with Peck Law Group, APC. In 2008, Mr. Adam Peck received his Juris Doctorate from Whittier Law School where he graduated Cum Laude. His practice is primarily dedicated to representing Elders, Dependent Adults, along with their loved ones and family members, who have suffered horrific personal injuries.
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Urinary Incontinence Can Lead to Horrific Bed Sores

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Bed Sores Can Be Caused By Urinary Incontinence

Many Elderly and Dependent adults have issues concerning arthritis, weak bones, loss of cognition, falls, and infections. Other concerning health disorders that afflict a large number of elderly and dependent adults include bed sores aka pressure sores, pressure ulcers and decubitus ulcers and urinary incontinence (UI).

Being restricted to bed, because of these issues, Elder and Dependent adults end up suffering from additional problems like bed sores, which are open wounds on skin that causes immense pain. Severe bed sores penetrate deep into the skin affecting the multiples layers of tissue, including muscle and bone. The sight is grotesque making it difficult for dear ones to help in coping with the issue.
Apart from bed sores urinary incontinence is another factor that becomes problematic for senior people. It is a condition where the patient has a sudden and urgent to urinate with every cough or sneeze.
Bed sores and urinary incontinence are two major factors that drive the need for home nursing staff to be carefully aware of the needs of bed ridden elderly patients. These concerns and how to deal with them effectively, however, are often not given due importance.

Medical conditions and some medications can cause involuntary loss of urine. Women generally suffer incontinence due to weakened pelvic muscles. Enlarged prostate glands are often the cause of incontinence for men. Factors such as alcohol and caffeine also contribute to cause UI in later years. Sometimes there occurs a need to insert temporary, disposable devices in the urethra to stop involuntary urine flow. Additionally, use of adult incontinence diapers or briefs can also help the patient resume to normal and uninterrupted lifestyles.

The medical profession must stay very alert and completely attentive to elder and dependent adults suffering through periods of urinary incontinence and how such a preventable condition may lead to terribly infected bed sores.

Arbitration Fairness Act of 2015

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ARBITRATION FAIRNESS ACT OF 2015
On April 29, 2015, Senator Al Franken (D-MN) and Representative Hank Johnson (D-GA) introduced the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2015 (AFA), which would amend the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. §§ 1 et seq. (FAA), by invalidating pre-dispute agreements requiring arbitration of employment, consumer, antitrust, or civil rights disputes.Under the proposed legislation, agreements to arbitrate those four categories of disputes could only be made after a dispute has arisen.  The AFA would continue to allow mandatory pre-dispute arbitration provisions in business-to-business agreements, and would not apply to collective bargaining agreements.  The proposed legislation would also empower federal courts, rather than arbitrators, to determine the validity and enforceability of arbitration agreements under federal law, regardless of whether the party resisting arbitration focuses its challenge specifically on the arbitration agreement, or instead offers a broader challenge to the enforceability of the parties’ contract.  A substantively identical bill was introduced in 2013 by Senator Franken but it died in the Judiciary Committee.Potential Impact of the AFA.  The proposed AFA would undermine several key pillars of arbitration under the FAA:

  • It would apply retroactively by invalidating existing pre-dispute arbitration clauses because the AFA would apply “with respect to any dispute or claim that arises on or after” the date the AFA is passed.
  • It would strip arbitrators of their authority to rule on the validity and enforceability of an arbitration agreement. As it does not distinguish between domestic and international disputes, the proposed AFA may have the unintended consequence of severely reducing the efficacy of arbitration as a dispute resolution mechanism for cross-border disputes.
  • As it requires both sides to agree to arbitration after the dispute arises, when parties are less likely to cooperate in negotiating an agreement to arbitrate, and where one party may see an advantage in litigation (including a threat of extensive and costly discovery), the proposed AFA will likely result in significantly fewer disputes being arbitrated.
  • By invalidating certain arbitration clauses, the AFA may impose significant financial burdensupon the court system, consumers and other contract counter-parties. The court system is already overburdened, and an influx of litigation may result in higher filing fees and delayed adjudication of claims.

Growing Movement Against Pre-Dispute Arbitration. The introduction of the AFA is part of a growing effort to reverse a series of Supreme Court cases applying the FAA to consumer disputes.  In March 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a study criticizing the use of pre-dispute arbitration in connection with consumer financial products or services, which we analyzed in aprevious post.  The Bureau’s study could serve as its justification for rules prohibiting or significantly restricting pre-dispute arbitration agreements in contracts for consumer financial products or services.

We will continue to monitor the status of the proposed AFA and report back on any significant developments related to the arbitration of consumer disputes.

Arbitration and Health and Safety Code Explained

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Arbitration: When the language, format, and font used in the written arbitration agreement did not comply with the requirements of Health and Safety Code, section 1599.81, as implemented by California Code of Regulations, Title 22, section 72516, subdivision (d). The Arbitration agreement is unenforceable.

Arbitration agreements are becoming very very common in their use by Long Term Care Facilities specifically when an elder and dependent adult is being admitted to a facility, such as a nursing home.  Many times that Arbitration agreement is “slipped in” with the admissions agreement and usually not fully explained to the resident nor the resident’s legal representative.

An Arbitration agreement may be deemed enforceable if either the patient / resident signed the arbitration agreement or an individual with authority to sign on behalf of the patient / resident, such as someone who has been granted power of attorney signed the arbitration agreement.  If done so, the defense will usually file a Petition to Compel Arbitration so that the plaintiff or plaintiff’s successors in interest can not avail themselves to their constitutional right to a jury trial.  Contrary to the propaganda that is out there, the cost of Arbitration including paying the Arbitrator’s fees is much more than having the matter heard by a jury.

DO NOT SIGN ARBITRATION AGREEMENTS. THEY CAN NEVER BE USED AS A PRECONDITION TO BEING ADMITTED TO A SKILLED NURSING FACILITY IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA!!!

In the State of California, there a certain mandatory provisions that must be put into every skilled nursing facility arbitration agreement to make it enforceable.  Defense must comply with both Health and Safety Code, section 1599.81, as implemented by California Code of Regulations, Title 22, section 72516, subdivision (d). 

In many cases the language, format, and font used by the defense do not comply with the above-referenced laws which make the Arbitration Agreement legally unenforceable.

The specific warning ““[a]ny arbitration agreement shall be separate from the Standard Admission Agreement and shall contain the following advisory in a prominent place at the top of the proposed arbitration agreement, in bold-face font of not less than 12 point type:  ‘Residents shall not be required to sign this arbitration agreement as a condition of admission to this facility.’ ” (§ 72516, subd. (d).  Failure to comply, makes the Arbitration Agreement unenforceable.

The Peck Law Group has the expertise to fight for your constitutional rights and has successfully opposed many petitions to compel arbitration.  If you don’t sign Arbitration  agreements, this shall never be an issue and you shall be able to keep your constitutional right to a jury trial.

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