California Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog
Whether you have an elderly loved one in a nursing home in Santa Clara or elsewhere in the San Francisco Bay Area, it is important for you to understand the risks associated with wandering. Wandering is a particular issue for elderly nursing home residents who have Alzheimer’s disease, another form of dementia, or other cognitive impairments. As such, if your elderly parent or loved one has been diagnosed with any disease or condition that involves cognitive impairment and they are currently living in a nursing home, you should learn more about wandering and how the facility can be liable when it happens. Our Santa Clara nursing home neglect attorneys can tell you more, and we can speak with you today about filing a claim to hold the facility accountable.
What is Wandering in a Nursing Home Context?
Nursing home residents with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia are at risk of “wandering.” The term can have a range of meanings, according to a study in the journal Practical Neurology, but it is one that is applied to “dementia-related locomotion activities.” What does this mean?
In short, when a person has a form of dementia or a serious cognitive impairment, they may not know where they are or why they are in a nursing home, and they may respond behaviorally in a particular way — wandering. The term can refer to “elopement,” or attempts to escape or walk out of the nursing home, as well as becoming lost in or outside the facility, and even repetitive pacing. As the Practical Neurology article points out, you may be familiar with the types of wandering incidents where a resident has left the facility, has become lost, and cannot be found because these are often reported as “critical wandering” incidents.
Who is at Risk of Wandering?
Nearly any nursing home resident in the San Francisco Bay Area who is living with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia can be at risk of wandering, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Nursing homes and other facilities have a duty to provide proper supervision of such residents to ensure that “critical wandering” incidents do not occur.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, nursing home staff members should be on particular alert of wandering risks when a resident with dementia shows any of the following signs:
- Voicing a desire to “go home”;
- Talking about going to work or engaging in other activities they used to do before their dementia;
- Forgetting how to get to a particular location in the nursing home;
- Signs of restlessness, such as pacing or repetitive movements;
- Having difficulty identifying “familiar places” at the facility, such as the dining rooms or their bedroom;
- Asking about loved ones who are no longer living;
- General appearance of anxiousness or nervousness in any area or new or changed environment.
Contact a Santa Clara Nursing Home Neglect Lawyer for Help with a Wandering Injury Claim
If you have an elderly loved one in a nursing home in the San Francisco Bay Area who was injured as a result of wandering, the facility is likely liable. Even though the facility may not have intended any type of harm, as we discussed above, wandering typically results from the improper supervision of residents who are known to have certain risk factors and to need more attention, and improper supervision often occurs because of low staffing numbers. In short, if an elderly resident wanders from a facility and gets hurt, the facility can usually be held responsible, and one of our Santa Clara nursing home neglect lawyers can help. Contact the California Nursing Home Law Group today to find out more about the services we provide to elderly adults and their families in the Bay Area.
See Related Blog Posts:
Keeping Up-to-Date on Nursing Home Abuse Signs in Solano County
The Silent Epidemic: Pressure Ulcers in California’s Long-Term Care Facilities
