AB 553

This bill makes several changes to current law regarding contractual

agreements between long-term care facilities and their clients, civil actions for

negligence in long-term care facilities, punitive damages in civil actions, certain

criminal actions against health care providers, and the confidentiality and use of

reviews, incident reports, and evaluations of health care providers.

arbitration agreements in long-term care contracts

Under current law, with few exceptions, contractual agreements that compel

parties to litigation to submit to arbitration to resolve all or part of the dispute

between the parties are enforceable.

This bill prohibits an adult family home, a residential care apartment complex,

a community-based residential facility, a nursing home, a home health agency, or

hospice (long-term care facility) from requiring a resident or client to sign an

arbitration agreement as a condition of admission, retaliating against a resident or

client for not signing an arbitration agreement, or charging more money to a resident

or client for not signing an arbitration agreement. The bill includes specific penalties

for retaliating against a resident or client for not signing an arbitration agreement.

A long-term care facility that requests residents or clients to sign an arbitration

agreement must provide the arbitration agreement as a separate document in

another color and larger type size from any other admission agreement. The bill also

requires a long-term care facility to allow a resident or client to cancel an arbitration

agreement within 30 days after signing that provision and to include language about

the right to cancel in the arbitration agreement.

limits on noneconomic damages

Under current law, a person, or certain people related to the person, who is

injured by the negligence of a long-term care provider, such as a nursing home,

hospice, or assisted living facility, may sue for economic damages and for

noneconomic damages. Noneconomic damages are intended to compensate for pain

and suffering, loss of companionship, mental distress, and loss of enjoyment of life.

Current law limits noneconomic damages to $750,000 per occurrence of

negligence. Current law also limits damages for loss of society and companionship

to certain relatives recoverable in a wrongful death action against a long-term care

provider to $500,000 in the case of a deceased minor and $350,000 in the case of a

deceased adult.

Under current law, a person, or certain people related to the person, who is

injured by the long-term care provider may bring a civil action no later than three

years from the date on which the injury occurred, or within one year that the injury

was discovered or should have been discovered, except that, if a long-term care

provider conceals an act or omission that results in an injury, within one year from

the date on which the concealment was discovered or should have been discovered.

If the injury or concealment is discovered after the three-year limit has expired, the