In The Courts: Hip Fracture during Power Outage Spurs Contract Issues

In a case against the owners and operators of an assisted-living facility, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has denied the defendants' motion to dismiss two claims against them.

The resident and one of her daughters had signed a residency agreement stating that the resident would receive basic assistance (including observation and monitoring), an emergency response system, and a staff member available at all times and that the resident had "the right to receive services contracted for in the resident-home contract." The plaintiffs, the resident and her three children, later reached an oral agreement with the facility's caregiver manager in which the plaintiffs agreed to assume responsibility for several of...