When Dementia Patients Are Allowed to Wander Off
Nursing home understaffing or negligent supervision of dementia patients can result in what the professionals call elopement and what most people think of as wandering off. Especially in the brutal heat of an Arizona summer, this form of elder neglect can prove fatal for an elderly or infirm person, even after only several hours.
If you and your family need to know how someone with dementia was allowed to walk away from a facility responsible for protecting them, contact the Tucson law firm of Fein, Flynn & Associates. Our attorneys' experience with personal injury and wrongful death claims related to wandering from residential care facilities can help you find the answers you need while presenting your demand for damages.
Call 520-547-7940 or 800-882-0828 for Advice About Inadequate Nursing Home Supervision
In our experience, most wandering and elopement cases reflect confusion on the part of the patient rather than any desire to escape the restrictions of a nursing home, hospital or residential care facility. We find that in many cases, the patient had a previous history of wandering away, and a major factor in the family's decision for nursing home care was to make sure that it wouldn't happen again.
A damages claim related to injuries suffered during a period of absence from supervision and care will certainly be strengthened if we can prove that the institution had notice of a prior tendency to wander off. Our investigation will also focus on the management and staffing practices at the nursing home, and we might find any number of facts, such as:
- Too few employees were on duty to prevent elopement
- Staff was unaware of patient records documenting a tendency to wander away
- Secure doors were left open or unlocked
- The patient was wheeled outside, left alone momentarily, then forgotten
- The facility failed to follow up after discovery of an empty room, absence at mealtimes, or other indications of elopement
The trial lawyers of Fein, Flynn & Associates have years of experience with the investigation and proof of negligence claims related to wandering and elopement from nursing homes and similar facilities. To learn how we can help your family, contact us in Tucson for a free consultation.
