A few times a year we hear news stories of Alzheimer’s sufferers wandering away from their homes and becoming lost. Those stories end one of two ways, and unfortunately, too often the ending is not a happy one.
These sad stories have created a cottage industry for nursing home providers. We have all now heard of nursing homes advertising themselves with “special neighborhoods for the memory impaired.” Or providing “safe and secure” housing for the Alzheimer’s patient. But what happens when the victim wanders away from those facilities?
A few years ago, such a thing happened in Escondido. Then a 94-year-old woman walked out of Palomar Heights Care Center in Escondido and into the path of a car, killing her instantly. Caregivers told the media that they didn’t know what happened, but a subsequent lawsuit revealed some serious neglect on the part of the home.
It happened again yesterday in Castro Valley. An 89-year-old Alzheimer’s sufferer was killed by a car after wandering away from an “Alzheimer’s & Dementia Care Facility.” It’s unclear how this incident occurred, but you can bet that the primary reason the family of the victim placed him in the facility was to prevent the very thing that took his life. An investigation into the accident is ongoing.
Source: Mercury News
The nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys at the Walton Law Firm represent seniors and dependent adults who have been victims of physical abuse in the nursing home, and those who have been neglected or received substandard care. Call (866) 607-1325 or complete on online for for a free and confidential consultation.