Hidden Arbitration Clauses: Corporations’ License to Steal
Do you know what is hidden in the fine print of the contracts you routinely “agree” to? Chances are you have signed away your right to access the courtroom in the event that you or a family member is injured by a negligent nursing home, swindled by a car dealership, or harassed at work. Congress can stop this if we tell them to act!
Included in everything from credit card, cell phone and nursing home contracts to employee handbooks and online user agreements are dangerous forced arbitration clauses that take away your right to go to court when you or a loved one is wronged. Instead you are forced into a private arbitration tribunal designed by the very corporation you have a dispute against.
Recent studies show that the arbitration process is secretive, costly and rigged so that corporations cannot be held accountable. The arbitrators are usually picked by corporations who want to be hired again in the future. So they are motivated to make decisions that favor the corporations that hire them to arbitrate your dispute. That’s one of the many reasons why consumer rights groups call forced arbitration clauses a corporate license to steal and cheat.
Fortunately, Congress has recently introduced the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2013. Please tell your Senators and Representative that this legislation is important to you and your loved ones. For example, If your loved one is abused and neglected in a nursing home, a forced arbitration clause may strip you of any effective right to seek justice in our courts — a right bestowed to us by the United States Constitution.
Even worse, when nursing homes know they can rely on forced arbitration clauses to escape responsibility for their neglect, they are less likely to pay attention to patient safety and care.
Please tell your Members of Congress to act to stop abusive forced arbitration by cosponsoring the “Arbitration Fairness Act”. This will restore our rights to seek justice in the courts and give us the ammunition to make sure corporations like nursing homes put safety ahead of short term profits. Please take action now!
Ask a West Virginia Personal Injury Attorney
If you or a loved has been wrongfully injured in West Virginia, we invite you to call a personal injury lawyer at West Law Firm for a free consultation. Our toll free number is 1-877-943-9378. There is never a fee unless and until we recover money for you.
Brooks West is a personal injury lawyer, founder, and President of West Law Firm. He has been helping those wrongfully injured in West Virginia for almost two decades. The results and service he provides his clients have earned him membership in the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the AV Preeminent Rating from Martindale-Hubbell. Brooks is most proud of the many 5-star reviews he has received from satisfied clients.
Lance Bork 
