We've always made it clear to the asst. living facility that our mom, who has dementia, is not allowed to go out on her own. Recently, she wandered out and was lost for about 6 hours. We don't allow her to have cash or cards. Despite that, she somehow made it to her former home 12 miles away in the middle of the night. Home cameras show her arriving by car in what appears to be a taxi or Uber as she was sitting in the backseat. She was then dropped off and the driver left. She rang our former neighbor's bell and they alerted us. The Ombudsman of the area of her asst living is investigating. Do we have a case for a lawsuit against the assisted living facility? Will it adversely affect my mom? We have no other place for her to be cared for.
Yes, its time for MC for Mom.
Is anyone her PoA?
If she doesn't have a diagnosis and doesn't have a PoA or legal guardian, then the facility may still see her as sovereign enough to come and go as she pleases -- and you (if you are NOT her legal representative to a diagnosed as impaired person) can say all you want to the facility but why should they listen to you? Just because you're a daughter? That's not how the law works.
We are not lawyers so cannot really "practice law" on this global open forum of anonymous and unaccountable strangers. You will need to pay money to consult with an actual attorney who practices in your Mom's home state.
More information as to whether your Mom is diagnosed and whether she has a legal representative would be helpful to give you other sorts of important guidance.
Your mother belongs in a locked-down memory care facility that she cannot wander away from. It is not the AL's fault she took off. It's the fault of whoever put her in an assisted living facility. That person, family member, or legal representative is responsible for making sure she's in the level of care she needs. Many times in the AL families literally had to be told that we would be calling APS to have their LO removed and put into memory care or a nursing home when they needed a higher level of care than we provided. We had to call APS a few times to do it.
Whatever you "made clear" to the assisted living concerning your mother, or whatever demands you made really don't amount to anything. The AL would have given you or your mother paperwork explaining exactly what services they provide. If they do not provide 24/7 supervision and locked floors for residents with advanced dementia, then you are out of luck as far as a lawsuit goes.
You're lucky your mother wasn't hurt. So take the win on that and move her into a locked memory care facility she cannot wander away from.
You posted "We've always made it clear to the asst. living facility that our mom, who has dementia, is not allowed to go out on her own" but what was their response?
To my knowledge Assisted Living personal can not forcibly prevent a resident from leaving nor do they or can they watch that person exclusively 24/7. Your contract should outline their responsibilities.
You will need to speak with an attorney to properly determine if you have grounds for a lawsuits.
Sadly, with dementia, this commonly occurs and your mother should now be placed in a higher level of care.
I also would not be surprised if the Assisted Living facility will access your mother to need a higher level of care and give 30 days notice to find placement. I would advise you to look for Memory Care and Nursing Home accomodations immediately. Speak with an eldercare attorney to discuss Medicaid rules and what the POA or Guardian will need to accomplish for the eventual move to Long Term Care your mother will need.
Sue for what ?? She was not injured . She even made it back home like she intended.
The assisted living facility can refuse to keep Mom there due to her wandering and tell you she needs memory care . Most have a 30 day notice and they can make you move Mom out , even if that means you have to take her home with you .
+100 to all the others responses also.
Call an attorney for guidance but don't expect a "case" to be filed since nothing bad happened, and you knowingly signed a contract for mom with dementia to be in a facility where the outside doors are unlocked, which is an inappropriate living environment for her.
I'm sorry this happened. I suggest you make arrangements to mive mom now.
When the mother moved into the AL it may have been just right for her. The facility would have informed the family if there was any questionable behavior going on and would have called them in for a meeting to discuss some different care options.
As for the lawsuit idea, it will have no merit and she will be required to move out and go somewhere else.
It is quite common for those with no knowledge of suits to think that they happen easily. One hears "Sue them" over and over. A case brought in court is for monetary compensation for a wrong act, and is dependent on the level of PERSONAL INJURY the person had due to the supposedly negligent act involved.
Again, no severe injury requiring ongoing care? No suit! Just that simple.