Pre-Litigation Screening - The First Step In The Legal Process
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Although I am a lawyer, I do not typically write on "ins-and-outs" of nursing home or assisted facility law. Frankly, the laws can be complicated and do not typically lend themselves to a relatively "short" (for a lawyer, anyway) post on this site. I'm going to change it up a little today, though, because I think there is something you need to know.
Did you know that, unlike many other matters, in order to bring a lawsuit against a licensed nursing home or assisted living facility in the state of Idaho, you must first jump through a hoop? This hoop is known as a "Prelitigation Screening Panel."
As defined by Idaho law, and in the context of a claim against a license nursing facility, the prelitigation screening process generally can be described as follows:
- Any claim for "alleged negligence or wrongful death" against a "licensed nursing facility," must go through the process;
- A panel serves in the nature of a "special civil grand jury";
- The panel consists of 3 people: 1 person who is a licensed administrator of a nursing facility in the state of Idaho; 1 person who is an attorney, appointed by the commissioners of the Idaho State Bar; and a layperson selected by the two members listed above;
- The process is "informal" and, other than the panel's final decision, there are no records of the proceedings kept;
- The process is nonbinding;
- The process is compulsory, which means you cannot sue a licensed nursing facility for its wrongful acts unless and until you have gone through this process.
You might ask, if the process is nonbinding, what happens if I "loose" -- get an unfavorable result from the prelitigation screening panel -- to my case? Does that mean I cannot proceed? The answer is an emphatic "no." Because the process is nonbinding, you simply are required to go through it, whatever answer you receive from the panel, you can still choose to proceed with litigation against the licensed nursing facility.
Should you decide you would like to hold a nursing home or assisted living facility accountable for its wrongful acts, there are some steps you should take. First, contact an experienced nursing home abuse lawyer, like the lawyers at Kormanik Hallam & Sneed LLP. Second, remember, you need to go through the prelitigation screening process prior to filing a lawsuit against a licensed nursing facility.
