Nursing home staff have a responsibility to care for residents and to make sure that they are kept safe at all times. This often requires continual monitoring. When residents are allowed to wander and leave supervised areas, they can become lost or injured. Nursing home wandering and elopement liability matters can lead to civil court claims and compensation, but such matters often require guidance and support from injury lawyers.
What Is Nursing Home Wandering and Elopement?
Wandering occurs when a nursing home resident, often one living with some sort of dementia, moves about without adequate supervision and enters unsafe areas. Elopement is a more serious event that happens when a resident leaves a supervised area or the nursing home unattended and without permission.
Whether these incidents happen near Countryside Golf and Country Club in Florida, Edgewater Hill in Ohio, or elsewhere, elderly residents can suffer harm from falls, exposure to the elements, traffic accidents, drowning, or becoming lost. Since nursing homes are responsible for supervising residents and monitoring their health, failure to provide adequate supervision can open nursing homes to liability.
When a Nursing Home May Be Liable
One in 10 Americans 60 and older has experienced some form of elder abuse, and neglect can be just as dangerous for seniors. Nursing homes have a legal duty to protect residents from reasonably foreseeable harm, including wandering and elopement. Liability may arise when a facility knew or should have known that a resident was at risk but failed to take reasonable precautions.
Understaffing, poor employee training, and inadequate monitoring may also contribute to preventable injuries. When these failures allow a resident to leave the facility or enter a dangerous area and suffer injuries, the nursing home and other responsible parties may be held liable for the harm caused through a negligence claim.
Importantly, the burden of proof for these matters falls on the claimants, and any legal action would need to be backed by strong evidence. Evidence may include medical records, care plans, staffing records, surveillance or security footage, witness testimony, inspection reports, and documentation showing the facility failed to follow accepted standards of care or its own policies.
Why You Should Hire a Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer
There are nearly 1.2 million residents living in long-term care facilities that are funded in part by Medicare and Medicaid. Other facilities are privately funded or paid for through a mix of private and public funds. If your loved one was harmed due to negligence on the part of a nursing home, the first step toward justice and accountability should involve finding an experienced nursing home wandering and elopement lawyer.
The decision to hire a nursing home abuse lawyer equips you with support from someone who understands nursing home elopement laws and how to carefully manage nursing home wandering cases. Spangenberg Shibley & Liber manages complex nursing home wandering and elopement cases.
We can provide you with the strategic support your family deserves. Since our firm was founded in 1946, we have helped our clients reclaim more than $1 billion* through focused litigation and strategic settlement negotiations. However, past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different and must be evaluated on its own merits.
Prominent groups like Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers routinely honor and recognize our work. However, awards and recognition are not guarantees of future results; selection criteria vary by organization.
Protect Your Loved One’s Rights With Spangenberg Shibley & Liber
When a nursing home resident wanders away or elopes from a facility, the consequences can be life-threatening. If your loved one was injured because a nursing home failed to provide appropriate supervision or safety measures, Spangenberg Shibley & Liber can evaluate your case and explain your legal options. Contact our office today to learn how we can pursue accountability and the compensation your family deserves.
*Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different and must be evaluated on its own merits. Awards and recognition are not guarantees of future results.
