Illinois Nursing Home Resident Dies After Fleeing Maryville Nursing Home Through Facility Window
In Illinois, an 81-year-old nursing home resident who escaped his Maryville nursing home by crawling out of a window on Tuesday at nearly 3am is dead. Jewel R. Lane, a resident of Maryville Manor Nursing Home, was found almost one hour after he escaped. He was suffering from cardiac arrest.
According to authorities, Lane, a Collinsville resident, walked nearly a mile before he was discovered along a highway. Lane was rushed to the local hospital where he was soon pronounced dead. He had been a resident at the Illinois nursing home for approximately two weeks. He was suffering from heart disease and Alzheimer’s dementia.
Without proper supervision, nursing home residents suffering from dementia, Alzheimer’s, or other mental illnesses may be prone to wandering from the premise. Unfortunately, certain nursing homes do not have the staff (or they are not properly trained) or budget to correctly and constantly monitor all of their residents that need this type of watch.
Steps nursing homes can take to prevent residents who are “flight risks” from escaping include:
• Placing alarms on resident beds, doors, or wheelchairs
• Installing exit door alarms
• Surveillance of doors and all exits
• Housing residents who are likely to wander in rooms that are located next to a nursing station
Examples of scenarios that a nursing home resident might get hurt during while wandering away:
• Wanders out of the building and gets sick or dies because of exposure to cold or heat
• Fall accidents after entering a “forbidden” area on the premise
• Getting hit by a motor vehicle after walking off the nursing home premise
• Falling victim to violent crimes after leaving the safety of the nursing home
Failure to properly supervise any nursing home resident can result in an Illinois nursing home neglect claim if the resident is injured or dies.
Please contact our Illinois nursing home neglect law firm so that we can evaluate your case.
