Nursing homes should be facilities where caring for vulnerable adults is a priority. When you or your loved ones sign up at these institutions with high hopes, qualified professionals will take care of you, and then you must face reality.
In most cases, nursing homes are understaffed or have issues with training, creating an environment that’s not optimal. Our wandering & elopement injury lawyers will help you solve the catastrophic events related to these situations.
At Nursing Home Injury Law Firm, our elopement and wandering injury lawyers will assist you during the legal process.
We will help you seek the justice you or your loved one deserve for all the possible consequences of allowing vulnerable adults to wander around or leave the facility without supervision. Contact us today for a free consultation.
What are Wandering and Elopement?
Wandering occurs when a resident with cognitive impairments leaves their room or a safe area to move around the facility without supervision. However, vulnerable adults may use methods to escape or leave without being seen from their rooms; this is called elopement. In these cases, your loved ones will be exposed to significant dangers outside that can lead to many consequences and even death. Likewise, if something like this happens to you, you must contact a wandering injury lawyer to help you build a solid case.
No matter which situation a vulnerable adult may be involved in, the consequences of being unsupervised are the number one reason for incidents like slips and falls, violence among residents, burns, cuts, or missing scheduled medications. Nursing homes must ensure the security of their elderly patients and be vigilant of them. Our nursing home elopement law firm will help you recover the peace you lost because of these terrifying events.
Need a Nursing Home Elopement Attorney? We can help!
What Are the Causes of Wandering and Elopement?
There are factors which can make elderly residents wander and elope, but in most cases, cognitive impairments such as Alzheimer’s or Dementia are responsible. Vulnerable adults with any type of memory loss condition may feel overwhelmed by their surroundings at some point, causing unfamiliar feelings about where they are. Nursing home elopement attorneys understand these situations are part of the neglect section and can be avoided with well-trained staff.
In our experience as nursing home elopement lawyers, other factors that can lead to wandering and eloping are:
- Changing in medication
- New medications
- Neglectful Environment
- Boredom
- Inadequate Staffing
- Poor security measures
Who Is Accountable for Cases of Elopement and Wandering?
Nursing homes are not only buildings; the staff, contractors, third pirates, and directives are in charge of them, and they must take care of the patient’s needs and requirements. Our wandering and elopement injury lawyers are prepared to fight for you in these cases where accountability falls under the primary caregivers, or in other words, the staff or contractors responsible for the safety of your loved ones.
Filing a claim against the nursing home with our wandering injury lawyers will require every detail of the situations that lead to the wandering or eloping of vulnerable adults. The most common fault found in these cases is the lack of supervision of the elderly residents. The lack of staff or training is a risk. In some cases, the factors that vulnerable adults wander or elope will make the administrators or any third parties events responsible for their constant profit-driven business ignoring the safety regulations for nursing homes.
Collecting Evidence for Elopement and Wandering Claims
At Nursing Home Abuse Law Firm, our wandering and elopement injury lawyers understand how essential it is to gather evidence related to these terrifying events. Thankfully, almost anything can be used as evidence, and you don’t need a professional to help you with this task.
You can use medical records, incident reports, witness statements, and photos or videos as a course to support your case.
It can be a challenge to file a claim and obtain the compensation you are entitled to. However, our nursing home elopement law firm will support you during the length of the legal process and beyond. We will hold your hand and help you overcome this difficult situation with successful results and obtain the compensation you deserve.
Schedule a free consultation, with no upfront cost now. You can contact us via phone or video call, or in person in our offices in Arizona.
Damages in Nursing Home Elopement and Wandering Cases
When a vulnerable adult wanders or elopes while in a nursing home, calculating the damage is a complex task. Depending on the case, the damages can be economic or non-economic, since every case is unique, our nursing home elopement lawyers will assist you to understand what possible damage you should include in your claim. Here are the most common ones:
- Medical expenses: when an elderly resident requires evaluation for professional or unique treatments after a wandering or eloping situation.
- Pain and suffering: anything related to the possible harm caused during wandering or eloping that can lead to pain or suffering for short or long periods.
- Emotional distress: these events can cause emotional distress for days or weeks, aggravating the base pathology.
Funeral cost: in case the wandering or eloping results in a fatality, you can ask for compensation for it. - Injuries: these cases usually can lead to minor or severe injuries like burns or bruises, broken bones, and head and brain injuries.
Highlights of Our Wins in Nursing Home Wandering Lawsuits
Steps to Take When Filing an Elopement and Wandering Lawsuit
- Document everything: every detail counts, as video, photo, or anything that has enough value to be presented as evidence can be important for your case. Medical bills, photos, videos, witnesses, and more can be a piece of evidence.
- Identify liable parties: Knowing who may be responsible for the neglect will help your case. Although the claim will be directly to the nursing home for neglect, the liable parties should be mentioned in it.
- Contact an attorney: Find professional support will make a difference in your case, and our wandering and elopement injury lawyers will support you during all the stages of your legal process. Contact us now and tell us your story in a free consultation.
- Submit your claim: Once you have everything packed, it’s time to file your claim. In most cases, the settlement and the compensation will happen before reaching the court, which will shorten the process.
- The court: If your case reaches the court, the final settlement can take a longer time for the settlement, but the compensation is typically higher.
How Can Wandering and Elopement Be Prevented?
Wandering and elopement are a serious risk for nursing homes that don’t follow established safety regulations. It may represent a constant fear of an event like this happening and expose vulnerable adults to physical injuries, emotional distress, or even the risk of a fatality. At Nursing Home Abuse Law Firm, our elopement, and wandering injury lawyers understand the need to prevent these possibilities, and that’s why we want to help you with what you should check when looking for a nursing home:
