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My mother and uncle have the POA for my grandfather. He is still living at his home by himself and has Alzheimer’s. He has someone come to sit with him during the day but no one is with him throughout the night. Yesterday morning my grandfather was found on his hands and knees at the end of his driveway. A neighbor had seen him and helped him back to the house. As the grandson, I know that he should not be spending any time alone for any reason, but my mother and uncle are simply in denial about their father's condition and maybe don’t grasp the reality of what could happen. My question is, if he had wandered into the street at 3:30 in the morning and someone had run off the road and hurt themselves badly, could my mother and uncle be held accountable in any form because they know he should not be left alone in his condition and could that lead to them being claimed negligent if an accident occurred and someone was injured? Thanks in advance for your help and response.

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Winters, glad to see you are watching out for your Grandfather. Your question is an excellent one, but it would be need to be answered by someone who has experienced this in the past, or by an Attorney.

I wonder how long your Grandfather was out at night or went out in the wee hours of the mornings, before whomever comes to sit with him. Right there would set the bell alarms off with your Mom and her brother to act now. Why they are still in denial is unbelievable, but that isn't uncommon.

Is your Grandfather stubborn, refusing to have help in the evening? I know how that can be as one of my parents refused any outside help. We had to wait for a serious medical incident, such as a bad fall, to call 911... then and only then was my Mom sent to long-term-care for the remainder of her life. Hopefully a neighbor will do that the next time.
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Not a lawyer but I think it would be tough to prosecute such a case. Even when old folks are in care or have 24/7 in home care this stuff still happens.

Maybe mom and uncle could do better but not much info here. I’m guessing grandpa sound be in memory care.
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He is not being stubborn about anything. My mother and uncle have simply failed to accept the fact of what is happening to their father and don’t believe it will get any worse than what it currently is. They are still holding onto the thought of him being independent enough to care for himself. I had to intervene when it came time to take his keys away, and I feel as if I am going to have to do that again about his current situation. Just don’t want their being naive about all this wind up hurting them in long run. Trying to look out for their best interests as well as his.
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As POA's, your Mother and Uncle have no liability for Grandpa's actions. If they were his legal guardians, it might be different. Rather than focusing on who is or isn't negligent, try to work cooperatively with your Mother and Uncle to find solutions to help him. Door alarms to call your cell phone would be good. So would a medic alert button that he could wear.
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