Elopement Law Firm
If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of abuse or neglect in a nursing home, contact Law Offices of Thomas L. Gallivan, PLLC for a free consultation. We aggressively seek to protect the rights of our most vulnerable citizens, the elderly.
What is Elopement in Nursing Homes
Wandering is a common characteristic of many nursing home residents with Alzheimer’s and/or dementia. Since many nursing home residents suffer from these diseases, nursing homes are responsible for putting measures in place to prevent injuries from wandering or elopement.
Unsupervised wandering within a facility can result in falls, fractures, hematomas, as well as head and brain injuries. Elopement, when a nursing home resident is able to exit the nursing home facility, can result in the above injuries plus hypothermia or heat stroke depending on the time of year the incident occurs.
Nursing homes staff members have many interventions at their disposal to ensure the safety of residents prone to wandering or elopement. These interventions include:
- Properly assessing residents for their potential risk for wandering;
- Employing enough staff (nursing and security) to properly supervise the residents;
- Locking doors and windows at appropriate times;
- Use of bed and chair alarms for residents found to be “at risk” for wandering;
- Use of RFID (radio frequency identification) security devices; and
- Moving “high risk” resident close to the nursing station for observation.
Contact a New York Nursing Home Abuse Attorney
At the Law Offices of Thomas L. Gallivan, PLLC, our practice focuses on the protection of the rights of the elderly. If you or a loved one has been injured in a New York nursing home, please contact us for a free initial consultation. There is no fee unless money is recovered on your behalf. All costs of investigating the claim are borne by our firm.
