Arkansas Nursing Home Elopement Lawyers

Did Your Loved One Elope from a Nursing Home?

Every nursing home has the responsibility to give proper supervision to all residents living there. When this responsibility is ignored or lapsed, it can result in an elderly resident leaving the nursing home or assisted living center alone, which is an incident called elopement.

If your elderly loved one eloped from a nursing home in Arkansas and suffered an injury or passed away, the Law Office of Tom Wagstaff Jr. wants to help you demand justice and fair compensation. We have devoted our careers and practice to representing people in many different nursing home abuse cases, including those involving elopement, so you can trust your case with us.

Some of our most remarkable elopement case results are:

• $3 million settlement: A 75-year-old nursing home resident was left unattended, eloped, and passed away as a result. 
• $2 million settlement: A 74-year-old assisted living resident with Alzheimer's exited the facility by herself and was found deceased nearly two weeks later.
• $736,000 settlement: A 75-year-old residential care facility resident was able to leave the facility unattended and passed away as a result.
• $250,000 settlement: A 99-year-old nursing home resident left the center unattended and suffered serious facial and head injuries.

Past case results cannot guarantee future case results, but they do show what our law firm can achieve for people in need of serious legal representation. If your family has been harmed due to nursing home negligence that allowed elopement, we want to see how we can help you, too.

Call (816) 597-4556 to request a FREE consultation with our elopement attorneys. We proudly serve people from Fayetteville, Little Rock, Arkansas Valley, Mississippi Alluvial Plain, Ouachita Mountains, Ozark Mountains, Springdale, Conway, Fort Smith, Gulf Coastal Plain, Jonesboro, and more.

What is Nursing Home Elopement?

Elopement occurs in a nursing home when a resident of that nursing home, typically an elderly person, is allowed to wander around or leave the premises unattended. In most cases, staff members are entirely unaware of the elopement, too, meaning that no staff were around to even see the eloping senior moving throughout the facility without supervision.

While it is true that any nursing home resident may elope and be put into danger, residents with dementia and other cognitive issues are the most at risk. Such residents may not be aware of their situation or surroundings, so they can’t return to the nursing home after they leave it unsupervised, even if they want to.

Why is Elopement So Dangerous?

All cases of elopement are dangerous because no senior who requires frequent health and wellness check-ins, such as the people who stay at nursing homes, should be left alone for long. However, elopement incidents become much more dangerous when the environment or property around a nursing home is inherently unsafe.

Elopement can become even more dangerous if the nursing home is located near:

• Busy streets or highways
• Wooded areas
• Areas prone to hot or freezing temperatures
• Flights of stairs

Injuries Caused by Nursing Home Elopement

When an elder elopes from a nursing home, the result can be a variety of serious injuries. As mentioned, the types of injuries suffered due to elopement can depend on the location of the nursing home. However, all elopement injuries should be taken seriously, and many are life-changing even with treatment.

Injuries caused by nursing home elopement or wandering can include:

• Dehydration
• Broken bones
• Back injuries
• Head injuries
• Disfiguring injuries
• Serious illnesses

In worst-case scenarios of elopement, the elder who was allowed to wander unattended passes away from their injuries. We have seen, heard of, or worked on elopement cases involving elders who wandered into highway traffic and were struck by vehicles, and others who died from exposure after being outside for hours or days, for example. If your family is grieving the loss of a loved one who died due to elopement-related injuries, we can fight for their memory through a wrongful death claim or lawsuit.

Damages in Elopement Cases

Oftentimes, negligent nursing homes do not change their ways until something affects their profits. If your elderly loved one was injured due to negligence that allowed them to elope from an Arkansas nursing home, it’s important to know that an injury claim or lawsuit filed against the nursing home could be what secures compensation for you and protects other elderly residents from the same negligence. It would be our honor to fight for justice on your behalf and for anyone else who has been put in danger at the same negligent nursing home or assisted living center.

If your claim or lawsuit is successful, the compensation it secures could help pay for:

• Medical costs related to the elopement injury.
• Costs needed to relocate your elderly loved one.
• Non-economic damages for pain, suffering, and hardship.
• Losses caused by a wrongful death if applicable.

Start an Elopement Claim or Lawsuit Today

If your loved one was injured due to a nursing home that allowed them to elope or wander off the premises, or if you are grieving the loss of a loved one who died while eloping, the Law Office of Tom Wagstaff Jr. can help you demand justice. Our Arkansas elopement injury lawyers have successfully represented countless injury clients throughout the years. We have intentionally focused much of our practice on nursing home neglect and abuse cases like yours, so see the difference we can make in your case today.

It costs you nothing to learn more about your legal options. Schedule a free initial consultation by dialing (816) 597-4556 now.