Federal Judge Orders Sugar Land Nursing Home Visitation Dispute to Mediation

Disputing Blog by Karl Bayer, Victoria VanBuren, and Holly Hayes

A Sugar Land nursing home dispute that arose after an elderly resident’s family was banned from a long-term care facility over a number of social media posts has reportedly been ordered to mediation. According to a complaint filed in the Southern District of Texas, Silverado Senior Living barred a woman’s two sons and daughter-in-law from the premises after the individuals refused to remove several photos and videos of their mother at the facility from their social media accounts. As a result, the senior citizen’s family members claim that Silverado arbitrarily and unreasonably limited their access to the elderly resident. The plaintiffs also argue the nursing home violated their constitutional rights by prohibiting them from visiting their family member in the locked long-term care facility. In response to the lawsuit, Silverado claims that the publicly posted social media materials violate the privacy rights of other facility residents.

This case provides yet another example of the increasing role alternative dispute resolution has played in the settling of nursing home disputes in recent years. Last month, the federal judge who is presiding over the lawsuit ordered the parties to work towards a mediated settlement. If Silverado and the woman’s family fail to settle their dispute within the time frame outlined by the judge, another mediation session will apparently be scheduled.

                       

Beth Graham

Beth Graham received a J.D. from the University of Nebraska College of Law in 2004 and a M.A. in Information Science and Learning Technologies from the University of Missouri in 2006. She also holds a B.S. in Public Administration from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. She is licensed to practice law… MORE >