Many families entrust nursing homes with the care of their elderly loved ones. However, there are some cases where a nursing home may seem to be clean and organized, and a facility may seem to be run well, but there are still issues that may affect residents’ safety. One growing concern is elopement, which occurs when nursing home residents wander away from a facility and encounter safety risks while in public. Numerous incidents have been documented across the United States in which nursing home patients have left facilities without supervision and been seriously injured or killed.
When a nursing home fails to take the proper steps to protect a person’s safety, a family will often be left wondering how this could have happened. In these situations, an attorney with experience in cases involving nursing home injuries can help determine whether the negligence of a facility or its staff members caused a patient to suffer personal injuries or wrongful death. A family may be able to recover compensation for their losses and ensure that a nursing home will be held responsible for its negligence.