Do your doctors require you to sign arbitration agreements?
I just took my son to see a new doctor and while filling out all the registration forms, I discovered an arbitration agreement. The form began with language somewhat to this effect: "because of our increasingly litigious society..."
I asked if I could refuse to sign and still have the doctor see my son. Because my son was having a certain type of appointment -- let's say Type A as opposed to Type B -- that was ok. But if the doctor was to see my son for the Type B appointment, I would have to sign away my rights to a jury trial if a legal dispute ever arose. I was taken aback and somewhat disturbed to be presented with such a form by a physician. I did not sign the form. I did end up liking the physician, though, so I'm not sure how I'll approach this in the future. That said, there are a large pool of physicians performing this same service in our area, so we do not have to see this particular physician again.
I have never before come across mandatory arbitration agreements in a medical setting. Has anybody else experienced this recently?
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