Patients Wandering From Nursing Homes in Michigan
The Buckfire & Buckfire, P.C. nursing home neglect attorneys have significant experience in cases involving a patient wandering from nursing home in Michigan. Most family members place their loved ones into a nursing home because they can no longer care for themselves. Family members trust the nursing home to be responsible for their loved one, which includes overseeing and ensuring that the resident is not put in a dangerous situation.
However, many residents manage to wander away or elope from the nursing home ground, which often puts them at high risk for injury, attack, exposure, and even death. Wandering occurs when a resident successfully leaves the nursing facility undetected and unsupervised and enters into harm’s way. Wandering is not just limited to a patient leaving the facility, but also wandering from a room, or elsewhere in the facility can be considered neglect if injury has occurred.
Legal Rights of Patients Wandering From Nursing Homes in Michigan
A nursing home is responsible for properly monitoring a patient, as well as assessing if he or she is at risk for wandering. When a resident wanders from nursing home and suffers injuries, the Michigan nursing home is responsible, and a nursing home neglect claim may be able to be pursued. If the resident is killed due to wandering from the nursing home, then the family members may be able to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit against the Michigan nursing home.
Risk Factors For Patients Wandering From Nursing Homes
Risk factors for wandering patients include older age, poor sleep patterns, agitation, aggression, and a more socially active and outgoing lifestyle. Even patients who are confined to a wheelchair can wander, demonstrating that a resident’s tendency to wander should not be underestimated.
Patients with dementia are at very high risk for wandering due to their lower threshold for stress, and their ability to cope with internal and environmental stress. Behavioral symptoms like wandering can emerge when internal discomfort exceeds the individual’s threshold. Some of the factors that increase wandering risks for patients in Michigan nursing homes with dementia include:
- Unfamiliar environment
- Recent medication change
- Left alone
- Change in schedule/ routine
- Spatially disoriented to familiar cues
- Demonstrates desire to engage in a past practice (ie, visiting a relative) or expresses desire to “go home”
Contact Your Michigan Nursing Home Neglect Attorney
If you or your family member suffers serious injuries from wandering from a Michigan nursing home, call our office now at (800) 606-1717 to discuss your case with one our top rated award winning nursing home neglect attorneys. We will represent you in your Michigan nursing home neglect lawsuit under our NO FEE PROMISE. This means that you will not be charged any legal fees whatsoever unless we obtain a settlement or recovery for you. You have absolutely no obligation for legal fees unless we win your case. If we do not obtain a settlement for you, you owe us nothing! Call today for your free consultation!
