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Terms of Use

Last Updated October 26, 2021

These Terms of Use (“Terms”) are a contract between visitors (“you”) to http://www.hss.edu/ (the “HSS Website”) and Hospital for Special Surgery, its affiliated entities, members of its medical staff, and The Hospital for Special Surgery Fund, Inc. (collectively, “HSS”, “we,” “our,” or “us”). The Terms apply to the HSS Website and other sites at which these Terms are posted. When using certain of our applications and services including our MyHSS App, our deployment of the MyHSS App through the Epic MyChart App, the MyHSS web application (https://myhss.hss.edu/MyHSS/) (“MyHSS Web Portal”), the HSS Safe App, or the LupusMinder App (our “Applications”), you may be presented with a Service Specific terms of use agreement that apply to your use of such applications and services (“Service Specific Terms”).  For clarity, the term “HSS Website” does not include the MyHSS Web Portal. 

a. Use of Site:

b. No Patient or Client Relationship; No Medical Advice: 

c. Links to Other Sites:

d. Third Party Services.

e. Author’s Disclaimer:

f. Email and Electronic Communications:

g. User Contributions and Acceptable Uses:

h. Comments and Submissions:

i. Editorial Policy; Third Party Content:

j. Disclaimer of Warranties:

k. Limitation of Liability

l. Indemnification:

m. Copyright and Trademark Information; Ownership:

n. Dispute Resolution:

o. Miscellaneous; Applicable Law:

p. Entire Agreement.

q. Assignment.

r. No Third Party Beneficiaries.

s. Right to Change Terms of Use:

t. Termination:

u. Force Majeure:

The HSS Website enables you to:

  • Access information regarding HSS and the services offered by HSS and its affiliates, including but not limited to physician services;
  • Access educational information to assist in understanding medical developments and medical knowledge in the broad field of musculoskeletal medicine
  • Read stories from current and former patients about their experience at HSS;
  • Make an appointment with an HSS clinician; and
  • Access other information, products, or services as may be modified from HSS from time to time.

Please read and review these Terms carefully before accessing or using the HSS Website. Our Privacy Policy, available online at https://www.hss.edu/privacy-policy.asp or such other location as we may make available (“Privacy Policy”), explains how we collect and use information or Personal Information (as such term is defined therein). Our Privacy Policy is hereby incorporated by reference into and made a part of these Terms. By accessing or using the HSS Website, you accept and agree to be bound by these Terms and acknowledge our Privacy Policy.  These Terms constitute a binding agreement between you and HSS.  The provision of information and services through the HSS Website by Hospital for Special Surgery is subject to your agreement to the Terms below.  

HSS reserves all rights in and to the HSS Website that are not expressly granted to you under the Terms. The HSS Website and its services are intended solely for persons who are eighteen (18) years of age or older.  Any access to or use of the HSS Website or its services by anyone under 18 years of age is expressly prohibited.  For purposes of these Terms and the Privacy Policy, “minors” and “individuals under 18 years of age” does not include emancipated minors.

a.    Use of Site: HSS grants you a non-exclusive, non-sublicensable, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use the HSS Website in accordance with these Terms. These Terms will govern any content, materials, or services accessible from or purchased within the HSS Website.

b.    No Patient or Client Relationship; No Medical Advice: Your use of the HSS Website does not create a patient or client relationship between you and HSS. The information provided in the HSS Website does not constitute medical or health care advice for any individual problem and is not a substitute for medical or other professional advice and services from a qualified health care provider familiar with a patient's unique facts. 

You should consult with qualified health professionals who are familiar with your individual medical needs concerning your specific medical issues.  Never disregard professional advice or delay in seeking it because of information you read on the HSS Website.  IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY, CALL 911 OR SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION AT YOUR NEAREST EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT IMMEDIATELY. You acknowledge that, regardless of whether you are a patient of the Hospital for Special Surgery or any entities that control, are controlled by, or are under common control with HSS and/or their respective faculty and affiliated medical staff and healthcare providers (collectively, “HSS Affiliates”), your use of the HSS Website does not necessarily make you a patient of HSS or an HSS Affiliate. Physicians and other health care providers are advised to seek confirmatory information from other sources before applying principles or other information described on the HSS Website.

While HSS seeks to keep the HSS Website up-to-date, medical treatment and knowledge change quickly and the HSS Website should not be considered as error-free or as a comprehensive source of all information on a particular topic. It is your responsibility to evaluate the information on the HSS Website together with your qualified health care professional. Discussion of the use of medication or other treatment on the HSS Website does not imply endorsement or recommendation by HSS, its faculty, or other affiliated physicians of any such medication or treatment.

HSS and HSS Affiliates assume no responsibility for any consequence relating directly or indirectly to any action or inaction you take based on the information, services, or other material on the HSS Website. Your use of the HSS Website is subject to the additional disclaimers and caveats that may appear throughout these Terms and the HSS Website.

c.    Links to Other Sites:  In order to provide you with other valuable information, the HSS Website may contain links to websites other than our own. Unless otherwise indicated, HSS does not control the content that appears on linked websites that are not clearly identified as part of the HSS Website.  You acknowledge and agree that these links are provided only for your convenience and, accordingly, and that you access these linked websites at your own risk. HSS is not responsible for examining or evaluating the content or accuracy of any of these websites, and shall not be liable for any such websites. Data made available by the websites, including but not limited to financial, medical and location information, is for general informational purposes only and is not guaranteed by HSS or its agents.

d.    Third Party Services. You acknowledge and agree that the HSS Website may enable access to or require use of HSS’s or a third party’s services and websites that provide information and services to you on HSS’s behalf (collectively, “Third Party Services”).  For example, patients may pay their bills for certain health care services through JPMorgan Chase Pay Connexion.  As another example, job applications linked via hss.edu/careers are processed via iCIMS software.  You acknowledge and agree that Third Party Services may not be available in all languages or in your home country, and may not be appropriate or available for use in any particular location. To the extent you choose to use Third Party Services, you are solely responsible for compliance with any laws or specific terms and conditions applicable to such Third Party Services or their use. HSS reserves the right to change, suspend, remove, disable or impose access restrictions or limits on any Third Party Services at any time without notice or liability to you.  

e.    Author’s Disclaimer: Contributors to certain publications on the HSS Website (“Publications”), including HSS eAcademy®, are required to fully disclose any financial benefits, equity interest, or royalties that they or their immediate family members have received from the commercial entities, including the manufacturers, distributors, or suppliers of the services, products, procedures, or drugs discussed in the Publication in the twelve months preceding publication as well as during the work on the Publication (including during the conduct of any research which is reported in the Publication, even if such research was conducted more than a year prior to the publication date). The contributors are further required to disclose any such financial interests they anticipate in the twelve months following the completion of the work on the Publication.

f.    Email and Electronic Communications: The HSS Website may provide certain features that enable you to provide your email address to HSS through the HSS Website. HSS will use this information to fulfill your request, interact with you, or provide information on publications, services, or merchandise relevant to your professional, educational, clinical or research interests (“Products and Services”). Unless you advise us otherwise when you provide your email address to us, HSS will send you emails and updates from time to time. YOU CONSENT TO HSS SENDING YOU EMAILS AND COMMUNICATIONS subject to your option to unsubscribe. Email transmitted by HSS related to Products and Services will contain an “unsubscribe” link that allows subscribers to remove themselves from the list of subscribers receiving such communications.  For the sake of clarity, you may receive emails from your HSS healthcare providers related to your care or treatment, when you request such communications. If you no longer wish to communicate via email with your HSS healthcare provider, you should notify the provider.  Before sending certain types of electronic communications to you we may seek additional consent from you, and the terms of that additional consent will govern such communications. You agree that (a) all agreements and consents can be signed electronically, and (b) all notices, disclosures, and other communications that we provide to you electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such notices and other communications be in writing.  Furthermore, we are only able to respond to electronic communications you send us based on the information you provide. So if you provide insufficient or inaccurate information, we will not be able to provide accurate and reliable information in response. 

g.    User Contributions and Acceptable Uses: You agree not to (i) access or use the HSS Website in any unlawful way or for any unlawful purpose; (ii) post or transmit (a) a message under a false name, or (b) any data, materials, content, User Information or information (including, without limitation, advice and recommendations) (collectively “Information”) which is libelous, defamatory, obscene, fraudulent, false, harassing, pornographic, harmful, or contrary to the ownership or intellectual property rights of any other person, or (2) contains or promotes any virus, worm, Trojan horse, time bomb, malware, or other computer programing or code that is designed or intended to damage, destroy, intercept, download, interfere, manipulate, or otherwise interrupt or expropriate the HSS Website, personal information, software, equipment, servers, or Information or facilitate or promote hacking or similar conduct; (iii) impersonate or misrepresent your identity or falsely state or misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity; (iv) tamper, hack, spoof, copy, modify, or otherwise corrupt the administration, security, or proper function of the HSS Website; (v) use robots or scripts with the HSS Website; (vi) attempt to reverse engineer, reverse assemble, reverse compile, decompile, disassemble, translate, or otherwise alter, defraud, or create false results from any executable code, information on, or received by the HSS Website; (vii) to have any antivirus or antispyware software running that is set to override the internet browser’s cookies setting; (viii) incorrectly identify the sender of any message transmitted to the HSS Website; (viii) attempt to probe, scan or test the vulnerability of a system or network or to breach security or authentication measures without proper authorization; or (ix) use or reference the HSS Website for benchmarking or to create any similar or competitive product; (iii) interfere with other users' use and enjoyment of the HSS Website; (3) do anything that is illegal or that violates the rights of others; or (4) use the HSS Website to advertise or sell products or services to others, or to solicit donations.

You must immediately inform HSS if you believe that a user is infringing any copyrighted or trademarked materials or is otherwise violating these Terms. 

HSS has no responsibility for the content of any material posted by visitors to the HSS Website, but HSS reserves the right in its sole discretion to (i) edit or delete any documents, information, or other material submitted to, or appearing on, the HSS Website, and (ii) refuse access to the HSS Website to any user that violates these Terms.  HSS is not responsible for the accuracy of any visitor messages on the HSS Website, including but not limited to “Back in the Game” posts found on backinthegame.hss.edu.

By posting any materials to the HSS Website, you automatically grant or warrant that the owner of such materials has clearly given HSS the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, and fully sublicensable and transferable right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform, and display such materials (in whole or part) worldwide and/or to incorporate them in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed.

h.    Comments and Submissions: HSS welcomes your comments with respect to the HSS Website. All comments, feedback, suggestions or other information sent by you to HSS will become HSS’s property and you agree that all intellectual property rights therein are transferred to HSS.  For avoidance of doubt, HSS shall own any developments by HSS or on its behalf arising out of your comments, feedback, suggestions or other submissions and you disclaim any and all rights therein. 

i.    Editorial Policy; Third Party Content:  While the HSS Website Editorial Board follows a standard set of editorial procedures for any materials that it posts on the HSS Website, it cannot guarantee the accuracy or usefulness of those materials. HSS and HSS Affiliates are distributors, not publishers, of the content supplied on the HSS Website by visitors and other third parties. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers, or other information or content made available on the HSS Website by visitors or other third parties are those of the respective authors. HSS and HSS Affiliates are not responsible for materials created by third parties.

j.    Disclaimer of Warranties: HSS, HSS AFFILIATES, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE SUPPLIERS DISCLAIM ALL EXPRESS AND IMPLIED WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO THE CONTENT, INFORMATION, SERVICES, AND MATERIALS CONTAINED ON OR MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE HSS WEBSITE, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT. YOUR USE OF THE HSS WEBSITE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. ACCESS TO THE HSS WEBSITE MAY BE INTERRUPTED. ALTHOUGH HSS ATTEMPTS TO ENSURE THE INTEGRITY AND ACCURATENESS OF THE HSS WEBSITE, IT MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES, OR GUARANTEES WHATSOEVER AS TO THE CORRECTNESS OR ACCURACY OF THE HSS WEBSITE, MATERIALS AND OTHER CONTENT ON OR MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE HSS WEBSITE. INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THE HSS WEBSITE MAY BE CHANGED WITHOUT NOTICE. HSS AND HSS AFFILIATES SHALL HAVE NO RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR INFORMATION OR CONTENT ON OR MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE HSS WEBSITE FROM ANY NON-HSS-AFFILIATED THIRD PARTY AND/OR FOR LOSS OR DAMAGE TO DATA, INCLUDING USER INFORMATION.

YOU ASSUME TOTAL RESPONSIBILITY AND RISK FOR YOUR USE OF THE HSS WEBSITE, AND LINKED WEBSITES AND APPLICATIONS. HSS AND HSS AFFILIATES DO NOT WARRANT THAT FILES AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD WILL BE FREE OF VIRUSES, WORMS, TROJAN HORSES, OR OTHER DESTRUCTIVE PROGRAMMING. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPLEMENTING PROCEDURES SUFFICIENT TO SATISFY YOUR NEEDS FOR DATA BACK UP AND SECURITY. 

WARRANTIES RELATING TO PRODUCTS OR SERVICES OFFERED, SOLD AND DISTRIBUTED BY HSS MAY BE SUBJECT TO SEPARATE WARRANTY TERMS AND CONDITIONS, IF ANY, PROVIDED BY HSS, HSS AFFILIATES OR THIRD PARTIES WITH OR IN CONNECTION TO THE APPLICABLE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTAND THAT THE USE OR MISUSE OF THE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES OBTAINED THROUGH THE HSS WEBSITE MAY RESULT IN UNDESIRABLE OR UNEXPECTED CONSEQUENCES.

k.    Limitation of Liability:  HSS AND HSS AFFILIATES DO NOT ACCEPT ANY LIABILITY FOR THE CONSEQUENCES ARISING FROM THE HSS WEBSITE, USE, OR MISUSE OF ANY PRODUCTS, SERVICES, MATERIALS, OR CONTENT CONTAINED ON OR MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE HSS WEBSITE, INCLUDING DAMAGE TO ANY PERSON OR PROPERTY AS A MATTER OF NEGLIGENCE, OR OTHERWISE.

NEITHER HSS ANY HSS AFFILIATE, NOR ANYONE ELSE INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING, OR DELIVERING THE HSS WEBSITE OR THE INFORMATION, SERVICES, AND CONTENT CONTAINED ON OR MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE HSS WEBSITE ASSUMES ANY LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR USEFULNESS OF ANY INFORMATION, SERVICES, AND CONTENT CONTAINED ON OR MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE HSS WEBSITE, NOR SHALL THEY BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF YOUR USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE HSS WEBSITE. ALL INFORMATION, SERVICES, AND MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED.

IN NO EVENT SHALL HSS NOR ANY HSS AFFILIATE BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, RESULTING FROM THE USE, OR MISUSE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE INFORMATION, SERVICES, OR CONTENT ON THE HSS WEBSITE, WHETHER BASED ON BREACH OF CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), PRODUCT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

YOUR SOLE REMEDY FOR USE OF THE HSS WEBSITE, THE SERVICES, OR LINKED WEBSITES AND APPLICATIONS IS TO STOP USE. TO THE EXTENT ANY ASPECTS OF THE FOREGOING LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY ARE NOT ENFORCEABLE, THE MAXIMUM LIABILITY OF HSS TO YOU WITH RESPECT TO YOUR USE OF THE HSS WEBSITE IS $500 (FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS). YOU HEREBY AGREE TO WAIVE, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ALL LAWS THAT LIMIT THE EFFICACY OF SUCH INDEMNIFICATIONS OR RELEASES.

BY USING THE HSS WEBSITE, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT THE LIMITATIONS SET FORTH ABOVE ARE FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTS OF THESE TERMS AND THE HSS WEBSITE WOULD NOT BE PROVIDED TO YOU WITHOUT THOSE LIMITATIONS. SOME STATE LAWS REGARDING LIMITATION OF LIABILITY MIGHT APPLY.

l.    Indemnification: You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless HSS, any HSS Affiliate, and their respective trustees, directors, medical staff, employees, contractors, agents, successors and assigns from and against any and all rights, demands, losses, liabilities, damages, claims, causes of action, actions, and suits (no matter whether at law or equity), fees, costs, and attorney’s fees of any kind whatsoever arising directly or indirectly out of or in connection with (i) your violation of this Terms of the HSS Website; (ii) your posting of material to the HSS Website; (iii) any act or omission by you in your use or misuse of the HSS Website; or (iv) any User Information that you upload to or transmit through the HSS Website, including without limitation, infringement of third party intellectual property rights, privacy rights, or negligent or wrongful conduct.

m.    Copyright and Trademark Information; Ownership: All materials and content on the HSS Website, including text, graphics, logos, site design, images, audio, and video clips, are the property of HSS, its faculty, the other members of its medical staff, or their suppliers, and are protected by U.S. and international copyright laws. All such materials may be accessed, downloaded, or printed for your personal non-commercial use only. Without the prior written permission of HSS, you may not modify, copy, distribute, transmit, display, or publish any material on the HSS Website, in whole or in part. Permission may be requested by sending an email to webmanager@hss.edu or you may send a fax to the Web Director at 212.774.7240. Use of any data for which permission is granted must be acknowledged with copyright identification, identifying the origin as “Hospital for Special Surgery Website, HSS.edu.”

The words “Hospital for Special Surgery” and “HSS” and HSS’s associated corporate logos are the trademarks and service marks of Hospital for Special Surgery. Nothing on the HSS Website should be construed as granting any license or right to use any trademark, service mark, or logo displayed on the Applications without the express permission of HSS or the third party that may own the trademark, service mark, or logo.

HSS respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects its users to do the same. In accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”), we will respond promptly to notices of alleged infringement that are reported to HSS’s Designated Copyright Agent, identified below. We reserve the right to delete or disable content alleged to be infringing and terminate accounts of repeat infringers. If you are a copyright owner, authorized to act on behalf of one, or authorized to act under any exclusive right under copyright, please report alleged copyright infringements taking place on or through the HSS Website by sending us a notice (“Notice”) complying with the following requirements:

  1. Identify the copyrighted works that you claim have been infringed;
  2. Identify the material you claim is infringing (or the subject of infringing activity) and that access to which is to be disabled, including at a minimum, if applicable, a description of where such material may be found on the HSS Website;
  3. Provide your mailing address, telephone number, and, if available, email address;
  4. Include both of the following statements in the body of the Notice:
    “I hereby state that I have a good faith belief that the disputed use of the copyrighted material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law (e.g., as a fair use).”
    “I hereby state that the information in this Notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that I am the owner, or authorized to act on behalf of the owner, of the copyright or of an exclusive right under the copyright that is allegedly infringed.”; and
  5. Provide your full legal name and your electronic or physical signature.
    Deliver this Notice, with all items completed, to our Copyright Agent:
    Hospital for Special Surgery, attention Department of Legal Affairs
    535 East 70th Street, New York, NY 1002
    Telephone: (212) 606-1592

n.    Dispute Resolution: These Terms provide that all disputes between you and HSS that in any way relate to these Terms or your use of the HSS Website will be resolved by BINDING ARBITRATION. ACCORDINGLY, YOU AGREE TO GIVE UP YOUR RIGHT TO GO TO COURT (INCLUDING IN A CLASS ACTION PROCEEDING) TO ASSERT AND DEFEND YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE TERMS. Your rights will be determined by a neutral arbitrator and not a judge or jury. 

You agree that, by agreeing to these Terms, the U.S. Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this provision, and that you and HSS are each waiving the right to a trial by jury or to participate in a class action. This arbitration provision shall survive termination of these Terms and any other contractual relationship between you and HSS.

If you desire to assert a claim against HSS, and you therefore elect to seek arbitration, you must first send to HSS, by certified mail, a written notice of your claim (“Claim Notice”). The Claim Notice to HSS should be addressed to: Hospital for Special Surgery. Attn: Legal Dept. 535 E 70th Street, New York, NY 10021 (“Notice Address”). If HSS desires to assert a claim against you and therefore elects to seek arbitration, it will send, by certified mail, a written Claim Notice to the most recent address we have on file or otherwise in our records for you. A Claim Notice, whether sent by you or by HSS, must (a) describe the nature and basis of the claim or dispute; and (b) set forth the specific relief sought (“Demand”). If HSS and you do not reach an agreement to resolve the claim within 30 days after the Claim Notice is received, you or HSS may commence an arbitration proceeding or file a claim in small claims court. During the arbitration, the amount of any settlement offer made by HSS or you shall not be disclosed to the arbitrator. You may download or copy a form Notice and a form to initiate arbitration from the American Arbitration Association at www.adr.org. If you are required to pay a filing fee, after HSS receives notice at the Notice Address that you have commenced arbitration, it will promptly reimburse you for your payment of the filing fee, unless your claim is for more than US $10,000. 

The arbitration will be governed by the Commercial Arbitration Rules and the Supplementary Procedures for Consumer Related Disputes (collectively, “AAA Rules”) of the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”), as modified by these Terms, and will be administered by the AAA. The AAA Rules and Forms are available online at www.adr.org, by calling the AAA at 1-800-778-7879, or by requesting them from us by writing to us at the Notice Address. The arbitrator is bound by these Terms. All issues are for the arbitrator to decide, including issues relating to the scope and enforceability of these Terms, including this arbitration agreement. Unless HSS and you agree otherwise, any arbitration hearings will take place in New York, New York. (If you reside outside of the United States, any arbitration hearings will take place in your country of residence at a location reasonably convenient to you, but will remain subject to the AAA Rules including the AAA rules regarding the selection of an arbitrator). If your claim is for US $10,000 or less, we agree that you may choose whether the arbitration will be conducted solely on the basis of documents submitted to the arbitrator, through a telephonic hearing, or by an in-person hearing as established by the AAA Rules. If your claim exceeds US $10,000, the right to a hearing will be determined by the AAA Rules. Regardless of the manner in which the arbitration is conducted, the arbitrator shall issue a reasoned written decision sufficient to explain the essential findings and conclusions on which the award is based. If the arbitrator issues you an award that is greater than the value of HSS’s last written settlement offer made before an arbitrator was selected (or if HSS did not make a settlement offer before an arbitrator was selected), then HSS will pay you the amount of the award or US $1,000, whichever is greater. Except as expressly set forth herein, the payment of all filing, administration, and arbitrator fees will be governed by the AAA Rules. Each party shall pay for its own costs and attorneys' fees, if any. However, if any party prevails on a statutory claim that affords the prevailing party attorneys' fees, or if there is a written agreement providing for payment or recovery attorneys’ fees, the arbitrator may award reasonable fees to the prevailing party, under the standards for fee shifting provided by law.

YOU AND HSS AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. Further, unless both you and HSS agree otherwise, the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims with your claims, and may not otherwise preside over any form of a representative or class proceeding. The arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief only in favor of the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by that party's individual claim.

If this Agreement to Arbitrate provision is found to be unenforceable, then (a) the entirety of this arbitration provision shall be null and void, but the remaining provisions of these shall remain in full force and effect; and (b) exclusive jurisdiction and venue for any claims will be in state or federal courts located in and for New York, New York.

o.    Miscellaneous; Applicable Law:  These Terms and the resolution of any dispute related to these Terms or the HSS Website shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of New York, without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law. The failure of HSS to insist upon strict enforcement of any provision of these Terms shall not be construed as a waiver of any provision or right.

p.    Entire Agreement. These Terms, including any documents incorporated into these Terms by reference, constitute the entire agreement between you and us regarding the subject matter of these Terms and supersede all prior agreements and understandings, whether written or oral, or whether established by custom, practice, policy or precedent, with respect to the subject matter of the Terms. If any provision of the Terms is found to be illegal, void, or unenforceable, the unenforceable provision will be modified so as to render it enforceable to the maximum extent possible in order to effect the intention of the provision; if a term cannot be so modified, it will be severed and the remaining provisions of the Terms will not be affected in any way. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of our right to do so later.

q.    Assignment. You may not assign, transfer, or delegate the Terms or any part thereof without HSS’s prior written consent. HSS may freely transfer, assign, or delegate all or any part of the Terms, and any rights or duties hereunder or thereunder. 

r.    No Third Party Beneficiaries.  Unless expressly stated in these Terms to the contrary, nothing herein is intended to confer any rights or remedies on any persons other than you, HSS, and/or HSS Affiliates. Nothing in these Terms is intended to relieve or discharge the obligation or liability of any third persons to you, HSS, and its affiliates, nor shall any provision give any third parties any right of subrogation or action over against you, HSS, and HSS Affiliates.

s.    Right to Change Terms of Use:  HSS may, at any time and from time to time, change these Terms. Any changes to these Terms will be effective immediately upon posting of the changed Terms on the HSS Website. You agree to review these Terms periodically, and your use of the HSS Website following any such change constitutes your agreement to follow and be bound by the revised Terms.

t.    Termination:  Your rights under these Terms will terminate automatically if you fail to comply with them or engage in any improper activity, including but not limited to any activities deemed to cause a disruption to the HSS Website. We reserve the right to terminate and/or suspend your access to the HSS Website at any time for any reason.

u.    Force Majeure: We will not be deemed to be in breach of these Terms or liable for any breach of these Terms or our Privacy Policy due to any event or occurrence beyond our reasonable control, including without limitation, acts of God, acts of government (including but not limited to “shelter in place,” “travel ban,” “quarantine” or “shutdown” orders, whether or not already active at the time you access the HSS Website), terrorism, war, invasion, failures of any public networks, electrical shortages, earthquakes or floods, civil disorder, strikes, fire, pandemic or epidemic (whether or not already active at the time you access the HSS Website), or other disaster.

How to Contact Us:
Hospital for Special Surgery
535 E 70th Street
New York, New York, 10021
Telephone: 212.606.1000