Nursing Home Elopement

There are a lot of things that can cause you to worry when you’re sending your loved one to live in a nursing home for long-term care. One of the most distressing things family members should never but might have to deal with is nursing home elopement. 

This is when any resident, including one who has cognitive impairments, usually dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, leaves without supervision. 

In most cases, many nursing home residents are found quickly, limiting the potential for accidents. In others, elopement in nursing homes can be fatal, which calls into question if nursing home negligence plays a role. Every missing patient case should be thoroughly investigated to ensure residents are safe.

If you have a loved one who passed away or was injured due to nursing home neglect that allowed them to leave the nursing home facility, you should know what your rights are. 

What is the Elopement of Nursing Home Residents?

Elopement in the context of a nursing home refers to a resident leaving the facility without authorization or supervision, potentially putting their safety and well-being at risk. This is a serious issue with legal and ethical implications for nursing homes.

Types of Injuries in Nursing Home Elopement Claims

When a nursing home resident elopes, they are exposed to various potential dangers. These can result in serious injuries, impacting their physical health, mental well-being, and even leading to wrongful death. Here are some of the injury types we often see in elopement cases:

Physical Injuries are the most common denominator in elopement claims due to the age of nursing home residents and their increased risk of aimless wandering behavior as a result of mental impairment, including:

• Falls   
• Traffic accidents
• Environmental injuries 
• Physical assault

Health complications are no less surprising when confused residents wander. An elopement incident with older adults can cause serious health concerns and be potentially fatal.

Wrongful death also occurs to an at-risk resident if they do not receive adequate care. Tragically, adequate interventions could prevent such outcomes if the facility offered adequate supervision and care for their patients, which is why you deserve compensation.

Who is at Risk of Elopement in Nursing Homes?

Proper assessment is crucial for patients in nursing homes. Nursing homes must evaluate each resident for elopement risk factors to provide proper care and prevent elopement. These are some of the most common elopement risks in nursing facilities.

1. Residents with Cognitive Impairment

• Dementia (including Alzheimer’s): Alzheimer’s disease is the most significant risk factor. Memory loss, confusion, and impaired judgment encourage wandering behavior, often with a destination in mind (even if it’s illogical, like “going home” to a childhood house). This may be referred to as reminiscent wandering.
• Other Cognitive Issues: Traumatic brain injury, stroke, etc., can also impact judgment and awareness, increasing the risk of resident elopement.

2. Residents with Mental Health Conditions

• Depression and Anxiety: Can lead to restlessness, agitation, or a desire to escape the perceived negativity of their situation. This is common in victims of nursing home abuse.
• Delusions/Hallucinations: They may believe they must leave for a specific (but unreal) reason or escape a perceived threat. This can lead to environmentally cued wandering.

3. Residents with an Elopement History 

• Elopement: Past attempts mean they’re more likely to try again. Previous resident elopement attempts are a significant red flag for nursing homes.
• Wandering: Even within the facility, purposeful wandering can escalate to resident elopement. It should be documented anytime a patient wanders off.

4. Physical Factors

• Good Mobility: Someone physically capable of walking, navigating doors, etc., is likelier to elope successfully. This doesn’t mean immobile residents aren’t at risk, but the risk is heightened with mobility.

5. Other Factors

• New Residents: Unfamiliarity with the environment increases disorientation and the urge to “go home.” Speaking with a family member during the transition can help new residents feel safe in an unfamiliar environment. 
• Medication Side Effects: Some medications can cause confusion, restlessness, or agitation. If the nursing home staff fails to communicate that a resident may be confused due to medication, the risk increases. 

Preventing Elopement in Nursing Homes

Elopement from nursing homes is a critical safety concern that can lead to severe consequences for vulnerable residents. Wandering patients expose themselves to physical injuries, emotional distress, and the risk of death if law enforcement officials don’t find them in time.

Understanding the factors contributing to elopement is the first step in implementing effective prevention strategies. By proactively addressing an elopement risk if a resident leaves the premises, nursing homes can create a safer and more secure environment for those entrusted to their care.

Risk Assessment and Care Planning

Each resident should be individually assessed upon admission and regularly after that to identify residents at serious risk of elopement. The assessment should include a review of their medical history, cognitive status, mental health, medications, and any history of wandering or elopement.

Based on the assessment, a personalized care plan should address each resident’s needs and risks. Each plan should be documented and regularly updated to reflect changes in the resident’s condition or behavior.

Security Measures

Modern security measures may include secured doors and windows, alarms on exits, surveillance cameras, and coded entry systems. These should be regularly inspected and maintained to ensure no nursing home residents wander off the premises.

An assisted living facility should also ensure that no nursing home residents can endanger themselves if elopement occurs by restricting access to areas that pose a safety risk, like stairwells, elevators, and exits.

Staff Training and Supervision

All nursing home staff should receive thorough training on prevention, including recognizing risk factors, implementing interventions, and responding to elopement incidents.

Additionally, assisted living facilities need sufficient staffing levels to provide adequate supervision and care for residents, especially during high-risk periods like shift changes, and to supervise residents closely.

Therapeutic Activities and Engagement

Residents are encouraged to engage with each other in stimulating environments and with planned activities to address their individual interests and needs, enabling them to reduce feelings of boredom and isolation.

Activities tailored to an elderly person in danger of wandering and elopement are vital to address their needs and prevent serious injury that may occur in an otherwise seemingly safe environment.

Environmental Design

While the design of nursing home facilities may not be everyone’s biggest concern, it is to high-risk residents who may easily find themselves in unfamiliar environments due to cognitive decline. Clear and visible signage and visual cues may help the wandering resident and prevent elopement.

Regardless of their elopement risk, residents also need access to outdoor spaces, so the nursing home should provide secure outdoor areas where residents can enjoy fresh air and sunshine safely.

Types of Damages in Nursing Home Elopement Claims

No amount of money will make up for the traumatizing injuries or death of a family member because of wandering and elopement. Still, seeking compensation for what they went through can help ease the financial burden that comes with healthcare and death. These damages can help cover expenses they might not be able to otherwise.

Economic damages are those for which you can receive financial compensation. These include things such as: 

• Medical expenses
• Loss of inheritance 
• Funeral and burial costs 
• Value of the services that the resident would have provided
• Loss of the deceased’s expected benefits and income

You can also receive compensation for damages that the courts deem non-economic. These relate more to the emotional and psychological impact the deceased’s death caused. Some of the non-economic damages you can be awarded are: 

• Loss of companionship, care, and protection 
• Pain and suffering 
• Mental and emotional distress for the surviving family members 
• Loss of consortium for the surviving spouse (if applicable)

Your lawyer could seek punitive damages if the nursing home’s or a specific staff member’s actions were egregious or reckless. These damages are there to punish the person(s) responsible for the nursing home elopement that resulted in the wrongful death. For example, if the missing resident wanders away to escape elder abuse.

Proving Negligence

Proving negligence in nursing home elopement cases requires demonstrating that the facility failed to meet its legal duty of care to prevent elopement, and this failure directly resulted in harm to the resident.

We establish a duty of care that demonstrates the nursing home staff members knew or should have known the resident was at risk of elopement. We then establish the accepted standard of care for preventing elopement in similar facilities. This may involve expert testimony, industry guidelines, and state regulations.

Our nursing home law firm demonstrates a breach of duty by investigating whether the facility had sufficient security measures to prevent wandering residents from getting injured. 

We establish a direct link between the nursing home’s breach of duty and the resident’s elopement to prove causation. This requires demonstrating that the elopement and subsequent harm to a nursing home resident would not have occurred if the facility had acted with reasonable care.

Finally, we document damages by providing proof of any physical injuries and emotional impact of the elopement by using evidence such as medical records, witness testimony, and security system records, to name a few.

Do I Need a Nursing Home Lawyer?

Navigating a nursing home elopement case is a complicated and stressful situation. From the legal intricacies to the emotional toll the incident has taken on the family and loved ones, having a legal professional to help you navigate the case is essential for their well-being and a successful case. 

Investigating the Cause of the Accident

A critical component of an elopement case against a nursing home or assisted living facility is determining the cause of an accident. The primary goal is to see if the official cause of the accident or death can be linked to the facility or its nursing home staff members. 

Working with an attorney with the resources and expertise in nursing home cases is a great way to uncover the truth. 

Identifying Liable Parties

Determining who’s liable for elopement in nursing homes isn’t black and white. In many cases, negligence falls on multiple people or institutions. When you work with an experienced attorney, they’ll be able to help you identify all the liable parties so you can file a thorough claim and ensure you hold the appropriate people accountable. 

Filing a Lawsuit

An elopement lawsuit is a little more complicated than a traditional nursing home abuse case. Since there are potentially life-changing injuries or even death, things become more complex. A skilled lawyer will help you navigate the legal process to ensure your case is filed correctly and within the statute of limitations. 

Negotiating with Insurance Companies

Dealing with insurance companies is one of the most frustrating parts of any case. Your lawyer will assist with negotiating with insurance companies to ensure you get compensation that reflects what you and your family have endured. 

Representation in Court

Not all lawsuits make it into the courtroom because they can be settled outside court. If your case goes before a court, your attorney and law firm will fight to protect your rights and ensure fair compensation.

Secure Expert Legal Representation! 

If your loved one was living in a nursing home, eloped, and their injury or death was a result of the elopement, you both have legal rights. When what led to the elopement can be considered reckless or negligent, you might be able to file a claim and hold the nursing home responsible with a wrongful death case. 

When doing this, you need an experienced and compassionate attorney to protect your rights and hold the liable parties accountable. The legal team at the Nursing Home Law Center has years of experience handling cases of nursing home neglect and abuse and will fight to ensure you are compensated for your loss. To learn more about how we can help or if you should file a case, contact us for your free consultation.