My mother is old. She was in a Nursing home and broke her leg when she slid to the floor in the shower (with aids present). (She was there for a temporary stay for a treatment unrelated to her injury.) She doesn’t have much money, and has been in a cast for close to four months. She needs to get her legs strong enough to be able return to her assisted living facility. Her insurance has run out (there’s a limit on the length of stay, but it resets if she returns to her assisted living.)
The Nursing home has agreed to pay for her stay to heal her legs, and want her to sign a General Release.
The first paragraph reads:
“[Mom] (“the Releasor”) […] for and in consideration of a continued stay by Releasor free of charge at […] (“The facility”) for the dates April 20, 2011 through May 18, 2011, and for such additional days thereafter as are determined to be medically necessary prior to placement is assisted living, does heareby forever release […] The Facility, [long list] (“The releasees”) from any and all claims […] prior to and including the date of this General Release including all unknown, unforseen, unanticipated and unsuspected injuries, damages, […] related in any respect to the Releasor’s admission to the Facility. This general Release also applies to any and all claims for costs, attorney fees and accrued interest and any such claims are also released by the terms of the Release.”
My sister spoke with a lawyer, and the original didn’t have the bit about the additional days. He hasn’t seen the updated version yet. I haven’t seen the original.
My concern with this is that it doesn’t specify who will make the determination that she is OK to return to assisted living, or what the criteria are. Do I need to get that explicitly stated? Is “by mutual agreement of the Releasee and Releasor” reasonable for both parties? Could it be added as an additional numbered paragraph at the bottom: “7) determination that Releasor is able to return to assisted living shall be made mutually by Releasor and Releasee.”
The second paragraph is long, and talks about “Medicare Interests”:
“Releasor and releasee recognize and agree that there may be Medicare interests that need to be considered as part of this settlement. Releasees and their attorneys and insurers have made Medicare’s interests a condition of settlement. In the event there are outstanding medical bills, […]. [… a lot left out here …]” Releasor will indemnify and hold Releasees harmless from any claim for conditional payments made by Medicare, including past, present and future in respect to this matter. This General release is intended to provide Releasor a lump sum which will foreclose Releasee’s responsibility for future payments of all injury related medical expenses."
What is the context here? What are “Medicare interests”? Is this standard boiler plate or specific to my mother’s case?
There are other reasonable paragraphs that follow, which I’m not worried about.
I’m going to call the lawyer my sister spoke with, but any help with understanding what’s critical and what’s boiler plate, and knowing what’s reasonable would help.
You’re not my lawyer, I’m not your client, etc.
