Elder Law

Nursing Home Resident Dies After Wandering From Facility

By Levin & Perconti

A new nursing home lawsuit has recently been filed alleging misconduct following the tragic death of a 71-year-old nursing home resident

Nancy Kinder was living at the Hunter Acres Caring Center, reports KSPR News. However, while at the facility staff members did not provide the proper oversight and close care that Nancy needed. In mid-March of this year that negligent care ultimately led to Nancy?s death.

On March 18th Nancy was found dead near railroad tracks that ran close to the nursing home. At some point in the day, she had wandered out of Hunter Acres and stumbled onto the tracks where she was hit.

Our Chicago nursing home attorneys at Levin & Perconti are saddened that a vulnerable elderly nursing home resident would be allowed to leave the facility alone and into dangerous surroundings. However, our lawyers know all too well that wandering and elopement are some of the most common ways that nursing homes fail to provide the care to which they are required. Elopement is a particular concern, such as in cases like this, because there is no excuse for a resident to be able to leave a facility without supervision, without being noticed, and walk right into an extremely dangerous environment.

The very reason that many seniors live in these facilities is specifically because they need close assistance to handle the myriad of dangers that exist in communities. All nursing home employees know of this danger and should be specifically trained to ensure that residents are not put into positions that could lead to deadly consequences. But as this case shows, many facilities still fail to meet that basic standard of care.

If you know of a nursing home that has similar problems, please contact a nursing home lawyer today.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on September 25, 2010 (boomark / email).