Claims Case Study: Failure to Ensure Safety from Elopement

An 85-year-old woman with moderate dementia lived in a senior living memory care wing for three years. She had a history of wandering in and out of other people’s rooms and a history of falling. One afternoon she was found lying on the driveway outside of her building. Her face was bloody, and she was confused with no memory of her circumstances. She was transported to the local hospital by ambulance with apparent facial and bilateral arm injuries. The emergency department (ED) physician diagnosed her with acute left intraventricular hemorrhage, acute complex left zygomaticomaxillary facial fracture, a right distal radius fracture and a left distal humerus fracture. The ED physician transferred her to a tertiary hospital for treatment. An…