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Health Law—The Arkansas Resident's Rights Statute And Civil Enforcement—Cutting Off Its Nose To Spite Its Face: How The Arkansas Resident's Right Statute Is Defeating Its Purpose Of Improving Quality Of Care To Nursing Home Residents By Crippling The Nursing Homes Themselves. Health Facilities Management Corp. V. Hughes, No. 05-90, 2006 Ark. Lexis 122 (Feb. 9, 2006)., Carol Elizabeth Nixon

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

Arkansas's current path in nursing-home regulation is leading to the destruction of its nursing-home system. In particular, the Arkansas Resident's Rights Statute favors plaintiffs and allows for high damage awards. The statute's civil enforcement provision lacks guidelines for the application of the statute or the award of damages. In February of 2006, the Arkansas Supreme Court decided Health Facilities Management Corp. v. Hughes, a nursing home case concerning the Arkansas Resident's Rights Statute. The court's decision on the issue of liability under the statute was well-reasoned and stayed faithful to the goals of the statute, encouraging nursing-home licensees to live …