A nursing home has a duty to protect its patients and provide adequate care in a safe environment. Many nursing homes fail to protect their residents from abuse and patient neglect. This causes patients to suffer injuries and wrongful deaths because of the nursing home’s negligence.
Our legal team at Baggett Law Personal Injury Lawyers has more than 80 years of combined experience handling personal injury cases. We have recovered tens of millions of dollars since opening our law firm in Jacksonville, FL in 2012.
If a nursing home has failed to care for your family member, call Baggett Law Personal Injury Lawyers to meet with an attorney. We offer a free consultation for injured victims and their family members with an experienced Jacksonville personal injury lawyer. Contact us today at (904) 396-1100
How Our Jacksonville Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers Can Help You With an Elopement Claim
When a patient leaves a nursing home, they can sustain traumatic injuries. In the worst cases, their injuries result in death. Our Jacksonville elopement lawyers have decades of experience handling nursing home abuse claims.
In recognition of our outstanding services, we received the Martindale-Hubbell Client Champion Award, the highest award for client services. Our attorneys have the highest and most prestigious peer ratings. They have also been named as Super Lawyers and selected as Top 100 Civil Plaintiff Lawyers by The National Trial Lawyers.
Our award-winning Jacksonville nursing home abuse attorneys get top results. When you hire our legal team, you can expect us to:
- Investigate your claim to determine why the nursing home allowed your family member to leave unsupervised
- Examine state records and past reports of negligence and abuse
- Hire experienced investigators and expert witnesses to assist with the case when necessary
- Handle all communications with the nursing home, their lawyers, and their insurance provider
- Prepare and file all documents necessary to protect your loved one’s legal rights
- Document losses and calculate how much your family member should receive for their damages
- Aggressively negotiate a fair settlement for a nursing home elopement claim
- File a lawsuit and take the case to trial, if needed
Elopement cases are complicated nursing home abuse claims. Having an experienced Florida personal injury lawyer to advise and guide you makes the process less stressful for you and your loved one.
Call us today to schedule a free evaluation with an experienced nursing home elopement attorney in Jacksonville, Florida.
What Is a Nursing Home Elopement Claim in Jacksonville?
Elopement occurs when a nursing home patient or resident at an assisted living facility leaves unsupervised and without staff members’ knowledge. This situation should never happen in a skilled long-term care facility.
Leaving a facility without supervision is dangerous for a patient or resident. They could get lost, fall, or be taken against their will. When staff members realize the person is missing, it could be too late to prevent traumatic injuries or death.
What Makes a Patient Want to Leave a Nursing Home Without Supervision?
Nursing home patients are often confused because of their medications or medical conditions. They might be depressed.
Reasons for nursing home elopement can include:
- The patient is unfamiliar with the nursing home or facility
- The person wants to go home or visit family members
- Medications make the patient unaware of what they are doing
- The patient might have Alzheimer’s, dementia, or a sleep disorder
- The patient is sick and needs help
- A person is thirsty, hungry, or needs assistance with personal care
In some cases, a patient might wander through the nursing home for many of the same reasons they leave it. However, there is a difference between wandering the halls of a nursing home and elopement. Elopement is caused by negligence and wrongdoing by the nursing home and staff members.
How Does Elopement Occur in Florida Nursing Homes?
Nursing homes have a duty to assess the risks of elopement and take steps to prevent patients from leaving the facility without supervision.
Factors that can lead to elopement at a nursing home include:
- Failing to have adequate security measures, such as door locks, alarms, window locks, security cameras, and exit procedures
- Understaffing that creates a lack of patient supervision
- Over-medicating patients and medication errors
- Failing to meet a patient’s needs, causing the patient to want to escape or find help
- Not identifying a patient as a high risk for elopement
- Failing to develop and enforce protocols that reduce wandering and prevent elopement
A nursing home should have an emergency action plan if a patient leaves the facility unsupervised. Failing to have an elopement plan could result in delays and confusion when staff members discover a missing patient.
When a nursing home is negligent or intentionally causes a patient harm, it can be held financially liable for the patient’s economic and non-economic damages. Our Jacksonville nursing home neglect lawyers can help your family pursue an elopement claim to recover compensation for the harm your loved one suffered because of the facility’s conduct.
Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Jacksonville Nursing Home Elopement Lawyers
Do you have questions regarding how the nursing home allowed your loved one to wander outside without supervision? Let us fight to get you answers and just compensation for damages. Contact Baggett Law Personal Injury Lawyers to schedule a free case review with a Jacksonville elopement attorney.
Visit Our Nursing Home Abuse Law Office In Jacksonville, FL
Baggett Law Personal Injury Lawyers
9471 Baymeadows Rd #105, Jacksonville, FL 32256
(904) 396-1100
Open 24 hours
