Elopement Leads to Death of Michigan Nursing Home Resident
Seventy-five year old James Franklin, Jr., an Alzheimer's patient, was admitted to Clare Bridge of Grand Blanc in Michigan on May 23, 2008. That very day, Mr. Franklin climbed through a window and escaped the facility. His body was found two months later a short distance from the facility.
His family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Clare Bridge of Grand Blanc alleging that the facility was negligent in its care of Mr. Franklin because it failed properly secure the facility to ensure that he could not escape and because it failed to timely notify police that he had escaped. The family also alleges that the facility purposely misled them when they inquired about other residents who had walked away from the facility. Allegedly, the family was told that the facility did not have problems with prior residents leaving the facility unnoticed. Apparently, that is untrue. In fact, Franklin had been the second resident climb out a window at the facility in less than a year. In September 2007, a neighbor had found a woman wandering near her home and brought her back to the facility. The woman had escaped when a window was pushed all the way to the top.
The State of Michigan banned new admissions at the facility last year until changes were made that included window alarms and increased staffing. That ban was lifted in January 2009.
The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us at 1 (888) 317-2525 or visit us at www.nursinghomejustice.com.
