I signed a release form and am now able to take my Mom out of assisted living and go for drives. Could I be liable if she gets covid?

My answer is to get her the vaccine. Then you wouldn't have to worry about this.

No, I don't think so. And not selfish either. I want so much to take my mom for drives too when her facility allows it. They will allow me to push her in her wheelchair outdoors to the park, but for any other outing I will wait until at least a month after we have both had the vaccine and still wear my mask, have her in the back seat, and windows open. She is not capable of understanding the mask wearing for herself. Since March she's only been out to go to the dentist twice. Not very much fun.

I am assuming you read the release form? I suspect the facility was releasing THEMSELVES from liability if your Mom gets Covid? Don't sign things without reading the details in these cases.

There’s no law that would hold you liable and allow anyone to take action against you. It would also be quite difficult to prove anything.

Bkin, it would specifically depend on the language of the release, including who is being released.    If you can retype if here, it'll be easier to tell if there's any liability created from your actions.  Otherwise, it's just a guess since none of us know what the language is.

Your facility has allowed this, and allowed her return. So if you mean legally liable? Probably not. You are taking her for a drive? Then she isn't going to get Covid unless she gets it from you, so mask up and keep your distance, take your own temp, don't do this with any symptoms. About the best you can do. If you mean morally liable, I can't say; that's subjective, really, if you do your very best to protect Mom and others. You understand the risk. I think it isn't "selfish". Our elders are truly suffering by all absence from everything for all these months. You understand the risks. Take care.

I don't know how you could be held liable, as long as you're taking the proper precautions with yourself and your mom. God bless you for getting mom out of her assisted living, and taking her out and about. I know she's loving every second. I'm sure there are millions of folks that would love it their loved ones would come take them for a drive. Hopefully we will here more of that going on in the near future.

P.S. If no one is holding the the governor of New York responsible for the 100's of nursing home deaths he allowed, I doubt if you have anything to worry about.

The Executive Director of the ALF would be the one to talk to about such a thing.

Good luck!

I don't think anyone is successfully being held responsible for infecting others, but if your mother is considered the source of an infection, she won't be too popular.

Nevertheless, I don't think you're doing anything that would really expose her to anything as long as you keep her contact with others non-existent and you yourself have been tested and found to be negative.