Law Office of Tom Wagstaff Jr. Secures $2-Million Settlement for Fatal Nursing Home Elopement Case

The Law Office of Tom Wagstaff Jr. has secured a $2-million settlement for the family of an elderly woman with Alzheimer's who passed away after being allowed to elope from an Arkansas assisted living center, only hours after she was admitted.

 OVERLAND PARK, Kan., June 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The elopement attorneys of the Law Office of Tom Wagstaff Jr. have secured a $2-million policy limit settlement for the family of an elderly woman with Alzheimer's who passed away after being allowed to elope from Brookfield Assisted Living and Memory Care (Brookfield) in Bella Vista, Arkansas. The $2-million settlement agreement was reached before the lawsuit became prolonged in court.

Barbara Doyle, 74, was admitted to Brookfield at approximately 11:45 AM on August 12, 2021, for a short three-day stay while her family was in Ohio. The staff was made aware of her Alzheimer's symptoms and elopement risks, which required her to receive constant supervision and frequent reminders due to memory fog and communication problems. About three hours later, she was able to use an alarmed back exit of the property after staff members left her unattended.

Through an investigation and the work of the Law Office of Tom Wagstaff Jr., it was uncovered that a Brookfield employee saw Barbara use the exit door, which sounded an alarm. Instead of trying to stop her from leaving, the worker shut the door, turned off the alarm, locked the door to prevent any re-entry, and walked away. At no point did the worker notify other staff or supervisors about Barbara's unattended exit, nor did management staff bother to tell the workers that Barbara was a resident there.

A Silver Alert was issued later, and after 13 days of searching, authorities found Barbara's remains in a wooded area less than a mile from Brookfield Assisted Living. A coroner determined that "environment heat stress" had been the cause of Barbara's death.

Elderly resident elopement is sometimes considered a "never event" in nursing homes and assisted living centers, which means that such an event should reasonably never happen when proper protocols and staff training are conducted. This fatal elopement case was even more concerning in that a staff member saw Barbara leave and do nothing to correct the situation. Using the evidence of inexcusable staff negligence, the elopement attorneys of the Law Office of Tom Wagstaff Jr. were able to convince Brookfield Assisted Living and Memory Care Center to offer a $2-million policy limit settlement, which the client accepted.

For more information about the Law Office of Tom Wagstaff Jr. in Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri, interested parties can visit www.thewagstafflawfirm.com.

Media Contact:
Tom Wagstaff Jr.
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SOURCE Law Office of Tom Wagstaff Jr.