Resident Wandering and Elopement Lawyer
Nursing Home Elopement Attorney. Wandering and elopement in the context of nursing home and assisted living, memory care residents means that they have wandered from their ward or floor in the building or that they have left the property all together. Due to cognitive concerns which occur due to aging, dementia and Alzheimer’s residents can get confused and lost leading them into a variety of potential perils.
Nursing Homes Have a Duty to Monitor Residents and Prevent Accidents
According to federal regulations found at 42 CFR 483.25, (d) Accidents. The facility must ensure that—
(1) The resident environment remains as free of accident hazards as is possible; and
(2) Each resident receives adequate supervision and assistance devices to prevent accidents.
Residents wandering from elder care facilities may walk into the woods or into fields, swamps, marshes and lakes. They may not discover they are in a dangerous situation until it is too late and do not know how to get out. My firm has handled cases of wandering or lost residents where they have has suffered from serious injuries such as exposure to the cold with resulting amputations two fingers and parts of hands as well as in cases where residents have died due to freezing to death. I have also handled cases of drowning due to lack of supervision and monitoring.
Facilities must supervise residents to assure they are safe and notify the police and other authority immediately when it discovered that the resident is missing.
Contact a Nursing Home Elopement Attorney to Discuss Your Case
If you have concerns about a resident who suffered harm when they wandered or eloped from a care facility or other care issues in a nursing home or assisted living facility contact attorney Kenneth LaBore for a free consultation at 612-743-9048.
