Doe, 81, lived in a nursing home’s secure memory unit. She tended to wander and had exit-seeking behaviors, necessitating her use of the WandergGuard, a wearable safety device.
Even after a door alarm was activated, a nursing home staff member did not see that she had fallen down multiple flights of stairs. She was discovered at the bottom of the stairs, bleeding and crying for help.
Doe suffered serious injuries, including a subarachnoid hemorrhage. She unfortunately died eight days later.
A state court has found that the plaintiff’s claim that a home health caregiver and agency may be liable for the caregiver’s negligence in supervising a patient but it did not amount to a medical negligence case.
Tammy Upchurch was an employee of Right at Home; she was assigned to provide at-home caregiving services to Ida Stratz. During Upchurch’s shift, she fell asleep. While Upchurch was sleeping, Stratz wandered outside her residence. Several hours later, she was found lying face-down in the snow, unconscious.
Stratz was taken to a nearby hospital where she died. Stratz’s estate sued Upchurch and Right at Home, alleging liability for Stratz’s death.
Ralph Ford, 73, lived at St. Francis Nursing Center. He suffered from cognitive impairment and had a tendency to wander.
On one night, he left the nursing home unnoticed in his wheelchair. He was found early the next day in a Dumpster several blocks away; his limbs were frozen solid. He unfortunately died shortly thereafter. He was survived by two siblings.
Ford’s estate sued the nursing home alleging it negligently allowed him to leave the nursing home through an unlocked, broken and unarmed door and then delayed initiating a search for him for five hours after discovering that he was missing from his room.
Kreisman Law Offices Professional Corporation