Hold Nursing Facilities Accountable With A Nursing Home Wandering And Elopement Attorney
If you have a loved one staying at a memory care facility, you trust healthcare practitioners to tend to their needs. The last thing you want is to discover that your family member has escaped the facility and moved to a dangerous environment.
At Steven D. Davis Law Group, APC, we are on your side and we can assist you in taking the necessary steps to hold parties liable. With over 40 years in handling medical malpractice and nursing home neglect cases, our Los Angeles lawyers treat your problems as their own when you are facing concerns over nursing home wandering and elopement.
When A Memory Care Facility Allows Residents To Elope
Systemic breakdowns are a combination of multiple individual faults. Examples include:
- Disabled perimeter alarms: Staff members turn off exit alarms or fail to fix them on time.
- Unsecured and unmonitored exits: Broken courtyard gates and unlocked doors invite residents to leave.
- Poor monitoring protocol: A lack of adequate staff leaves doorways unmonitored, making it easy for residents to escape.
- Flawed environment: The facility fails to disguise exit doors and establish boundaries.
Residents with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are sensitive to their environment and often experience confusion and disorientation. With a strong urge to go home, they tend to find ways to escape the facility.
Why Unsupervised Elopement Is Dangerous For Residents
Residents with cognitive impairments are at risk of sustaining injuries, as they lack spatial awareness. When they leave the care facility, patients may get involved in pedestrian-vehicle collisions that result in traumatic brain injuries or death. Outdoor exposure also causes rapid, fatal hyperthermia in extreme heat or severe hypothermia in cold conditions.
If your loved one experiences any of these, the memory care home has breached its duty of care. Failing to prevent elopement makes them liable for resulting injuries, medical costs or wrongful death.
Factors That Prove Nursing Home Liability In Los Angeles
You may file a lawsuit under the California Welfare & Institutions Code for elder abuse or neglect. The claim should focus on intentional failures, such as:
- Illegal understaffing
- Ignored exit-seeking behavior of dementia residents
- Delayed search protocols after a breakout
Our team can help you find evidence that proves recklessness. We commit ourselves to exhausting our resources, so your claim presents that the home care facility consciously disregarded high-risk dangers.
Let Us Help You Protect Your Family. Schedule A Free Consultation Today.
Your loved one deserves respect and dignity. They should receive high-quality care, especially when their cognitive impairment leaves them vulnerable to hazards.
If you want to learn more about you and your family’s rights and protections, we are more than happy to review your case. Schedule an appointment by calling 424-252-1430 or filling out an online contact form.