Wandering and elopement are challenging dementia-related behaviors that can expose residents to the risks of injury and potential death. It can happen when a resident feels the need to pursue or fulfill a particular action or need.
Wandering residents venture to areas outside the scope of a facility’s safety. On the other hand, residents who elope go entirely beyond the facility’s premises and control. The risks associated with these behaviors might include:
- Getting lost
- A potential robbery
- Accidents
- Unattended needs
- An accident involving a fall
- Other serious injuries
- Death
Wandering and elopement behaviors put residents in hazardous situations. That is why a nursing home must impose prevention plans to control urges and risks of wandering.
We Can Help You Pursue Legal Action
Pintas & Mullins Law Firm believes that injuries your loved ones suffer due to nursing home neglect and abuse are inexcusable. As the resident’s guardian, you may submit a legal action for a nursing home’s failure to provide proper care and supervision. We can help you pursue your case in ways that include:
- Examining and gathering evidence of nursing home neglect or abuse (e.g., failure to prevent elopement, acknowledge the risks of the resident, or employ proper care and supervision)
- Establishing liability of the party at fault
- Helping you understand your legal rights
- Representing you and your loved ones in court, if necessary
- Pursuing compensation for injury, damage, or death
Nursing home facilities are required by law to protect its residents from harm. If they have failed to establish such a duty of care to your loved ones, a Nashville wandering and elopement lawyer can help you seek justice. For a free case evaluation, call Pintas & Mullins Law Firm today at (800) 842-6336.
Wandering in Nursing Homes
Reasons for a resident’s wandering can vary depending on the needs of the individual. They may leave the facility due to boredom, stress, or just wish to search for a new environment. If their needs are unmet or neglected, this can trigger them to wander in search of fulfillment.
Other factors that can trigger wandering in nursing home residents include:
- Lack of proper medication
- Change in medication or medication needs
- Neglected physical or emotional needs
- Search for a familiar environment
- Missing loved ones or family
- Loneliness, isolation, lack of social interaction, or the need for a good companion
- Environmental links
Cognitive impairment can significantly affect the factors of wandering. In some cases, new residents might also wander or elope due to the sudden new environment.
For a free legal consultation with a Nashville Wandering and Elopement Lawyer serving Nashville, call (800) 842-6336
Cases or Effects of Neglected Wandering Risks
According to the Alzheimer’s Association (ALZ), if a resident has shown signs of wandering or elopement behaviors, the nursing home facility should address the risks involved. Otherwise, their wandering or elopement could lead to injuries or wrongful death.
Wandering can result in different cases if signs and risks are ignored and unidentified. Such cases include:
- Environmentally cued wandering
- Recreational wandering
- Agitated or aggressive purposeful wandering
- Reminiscent wandering
- Elopement
Whichever case or factor is involved in your loved one’s wandering, it is still the nursing home’s responsibility to prevent such situations.
Call Pintas & Mullins Law Firm today to discuss your loved one’s situation with us. We can help you figure out what your next steps can be if you decide to pursue legal action.
Nashville Nashville Wandering and Elopement Lawyer Near Me (800) 842-6336
Situations of Nursing Home Neglect that Could Lead to Wandering and Elopement
According to the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners (NCCDP), wandering behaviors in nursing homes usually happen to cognitive-impaired residents with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Facilities that do not provide proper care and supervision represent neglect that can lead its residents to leave the premises.
A failure to fulfill the duty of preventing wandering and elopement can come in different situations that may include:
- Having known the risks of a resident to wander and elope, but did not exercise measures to prevent it
- Not enough nursing staff to tend to each resident’s needs
- Lack of supervision and care resulting in inattention, lack of medication, or dangerous symptoms that can trigger elopement
- Unsecured nursing home conditions leading to the resident’s ease in exiting the facility
Nursing homes can prevent residents from wandering or eloping outside the facility through preventive measures that include:
- Properly identifying and assessing wanderers
- Establishing prevention programs, rules, and activities
- Maintaining the safety of the facility
- Training staffs to swiftly and effectively search for residents during wandering and elopement situations
A resident trusted under the care of a nursing home is their responsibility to protect. Whichever prevention or protection they have failed to exercise may allow you to establish liability for the injuries suffered. If you want legal counsel, reach out to a Nashville wandering and elopement lawyer who can help you.
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Your Right to Recovery and Compensation
If your loved ones have returned with serious injuries due to an elopement, a case settlement may cover costs that include:
- Ongoing care, hospitalization, therapy, or medical costs
- Loss of future income
- Loss of wage or salaries due to your absence from work
- Physical pain and suffering
- New nursing home relocation costs
If elopement has caused the loss of your loved one, you have the right to pursue compensation for wrongful death. This may involve funeral expenses and other compensation, including:
- Emotional pain and suffering
- Medical expenses
- Nursing home negligence in wrongful death
- Loss of a loved one
Pintas & Mullins Law Firm understands how injuries or the loss of a loved one can cause you distress. Witnessing the suffering or loss of a loved one is never easy. The idea of someone else’s negligence causing your loved one’s death can be even more difficult.
It is important that you give yourself time to recover in peace. If you want to ensure your case moves forward during this challenging time, a Nashville wandering and elopement lawyer could pursue financial awards while you focus on yourself and your family. You may file a lawsuit within one year of the incident, as per the Tennessee statute of limitations, for your case to be valid. We recommend that you start as soon as you can to allow an attorney time to build your case and file your lawsuit by the deadline.
Complete a Free Case Evaluation form now
Call Us to Learn More About How a Nashville Wandering and Elopement Lawyer Can Help
Injuries or wrongful death after wandering or elopement is often the result of inattention on behalf of a nursing home facility. If a loved one has suffered from such neglect, you may file a claim for injury or wrongful death. We can represent your case and fight for your recovery throughout the legal process.
For a free consultation, call Pintas & Mullins Law Firm at (800) 842-6336 today.
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