Maison Law represents any victim of nursing home abuse in California. Of the many different forms of nursing home abuse, one of the most common is called elopement, and happens when your elderly loved one wanders away from the facility because they’re unsupervised. If this has happened to your elderly loved one, contact us today for a free consultation.
Do You Need Our Lawyers?
Just having a loved one in a nursing home or care facility can make you feel powerless. At the same time, there are certain practical issues that make caring for them on your own virtually impossible. So, when you turn to one of these facilities, you are placing a huge amount of trust in them to take care of your loved one.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen and leads to injuries because of abuse or neglect like elopement. But the question as to whether or not you need our lawyers usually depends on the circumstances. If you feel like the elopement was an isolated incident, you can probably just report it to the facility itself and they’ll helpfully rectify it. However, if it leads to a serious injury or is an ongoing concern, you can turn to our team for help. Here’s what we can do:
- Explaining your options – Like any injury claim, there’s legal options and rights in place for you and your elderly loved one regarding nursing home elopement and abuse. We can explain these rights and options to you, and what the path ahead would look like.
- Gathering evidence – The strength of any claim rests on the evidence, and this is especially true in elopement cases. We’ll help you gather your loved one’s medical records, photos, videos, surveillance footage, and any other pieces of evidence to help prove your claim.
- Facing the facility and their insurance company – We can stand with you as you go against the facility and their insurance carrier. Many facilities are owned by large companies with vast resources. We’ll stand up for your rights and make sure that your loved one is protected.
- Making it easier – More than anything else, we’re here to make the process easier for you and your loved one. We can handle the legal responsibilities while you work to re-prioritize your loved one’s health and safety in the facility–or perhaps a different one.
Again, what path you choose on behalf of your elderly loved one is going to depend on the circumstances. At the same time, there’s certain steps you can take to both build a case and protect your loved one.
What Needs to Be Done?
When dealing with a nursing home elopement, proving what happened can be tricky. Each case is unique, so there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. But there are some steps you can take to make your case stronger:
- Keep records – Write down what happened, where and when it happened, and any details you can remember. If you can, get pictures or videos of where your loved one was last seen.
- Get medical records and other documentation from the facility – Ask the nursing home for any records they have about your loved one’s care and any past wandering incidents. This can help show if the nursing home failed to keep your loved one safe.
- Talk to witnesses – If anyone saw what happened, talk to them. Their account of events can be really helpful in understanding how and why your loved one eloped.
- Check security measures – Look into what security measures the nursing home had in place to prevent elopements. If they were lacking or didn’t work properly, it could show negligence on the nursing home’s part.
Understanding Nursing Home Elopement
Even though every case is unique, nursing home elopement has several underlying causes. While every facility has certain policies and procedures in place, the reality is that these incidents are common and can lead to serious injuries and other damage to your loved one. Here’s some of the most common ways elopement can happen:
- Inadequate staffing and supervision – When there aren’t enough staff members to keep an eye on residents, especially those with dementia, they might wander off without anyone noticing.
- Not checking risks – Sometimes, staff forget to check if certain residents are likely to wander off. This means they might not take the right steps to stop it from happening.
- Lack of security – Nursing homes are supposed to have good security to stop residents from leaving without permission. If the security isn’t working right, residents can easily walk out.
- Poor training – If staff members don’t know how to spot when someone might try to leave or how to stop them, it can lead to residents wandering off.
- Ignoring warning signs – Sometimes, staff ignore signs that someone might try to leave, like if they keep talking about going outside or if they wander around a lot. Not paying attention to these signs makes it more likely that someone will wander off.
There’s any number of potential causes of elopement, but in terms of your loved one’s safety and health, it’s very important to take action to hold the facility–and others–accountable.
Filing a Claim For Nursing Home Elopement
Legally speaking, nursing home abuse–specifically elopement incidents–is an injury claim. As such, there’s legal mechanisms in place to take action against the facility and anyone who was responsible for the incident. Usually, this includes anyone whose negligence led to the incident and your loved one’s injuries, like:
- The nursing home or care facility
- The company that owns the facility
- The landlord or management of the facility
- Individual staff members and caregivers
- Security personnel
- Medical professionals
At that point, you can file either an insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit against these parties to recover certain “damages.” These damages refer to the financial and physical losses that happened because of the elopement incident. In a typical claim, these can include:
- Medical expenses resulting from the elopement
- Lost earnings
- Rehabilitation or therapy costs
- Relocation expenses to another care facility
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Diminished quality of life
- Loss of companionship (for family members)
Similar to other legal claims, elopement claims are subject to statutes of limitations. In California, such claims must be filed within two years of the incident. Missing this deadline will mean you can’t recover these damages on behalf of your loved one.
Contact Maison Law For a Free Consultation
At Maison Law, our team of nursing home elopement lawyers is dedicated to supporting you and your family during this challenging time. Although investigations into nursing home misconduct can lead to accountability, abuse still happens. If you or your loved one need legal help, we provide high-quality representation and supportive guidance. Contact us today for a free consultation to learn more about how we can help you.
