Many times, families help people move into nursing homes for their safety and health. Older adults may struggle to properly care for their homes or cook their own meals. They may not be able to administer the medication they require. In some cases, they may be at risk of injury because they fall or become confused.
Nursing homes help connect medically vulnerable and aging individuals with a variety of valuable services. Nursing homes can keep people safe when they might otherwise be at risk of injury or illness. For example, they can protect residents against the possibility of wandering or elopement.
In some cases, nursing homes can identify those with compromised cognitive abilities and an increased risk of elopement. Other times, identifying those individuals before they try to leave a facility can prove more difficult than families realize.
Cognitive decline isn’t the only consideration
For some people, a decline in mental acuity is the underlying cause of an elopement incident. They don’t remember why they are in a nursing home or even where they are. They try to leave, possibly with tragic results. They may end up sickened due to exposure or injured if they wander into traffic.
Many nursing homes are proactive about regularly assessing residents to identify those who may need to stay in a locked memory ward for their own safety. That being said, some people elope from a facility for completely different reasons.
Older adults may resent their placement in the facility. They may assume that if they leave and contact friends or family, they can establish alternate living arrangements. Sometimes, those who are still perfectly capable of understanding their circumstances plan an elopement intentionally.
In those scenarios, it is all but impossible for a nursing home to identify who is at risk and prevent them from executing a plan to leave the facility. Families often try to blame nursing homes for elopement incidents that end poorly, even when there is every indication that the resident who left went to great lengths to outsmart security systems and work around the facility’s safety protocols.
Nursing homes facing allegations of negligence related to an elopement incident may need help defending against the litigation brought by the family members of their residents. Reviewing internal records, telecommunication records and even security camera footage with as skilled legal team can help establish a viable defense strategy for nursing homes accused of negligence because of a resident’s escape from a facility.
