Family plans to sue ManorCare after their 80-year-old father escaped the nursing home and was hospitalized
PARMA, Ohio (WOIO) - Lisa White said she got a call earlier this month from her brother that made her heart drop.
“Dad’s missing and I said, how can he be missing, he’s in a nursing home?” she said.
White said the staff found her father, Mr. Hayden Thorne, right behind ManorCare, his nursing home in Parma.
She said he escaped and fell down a 75-foot embankment.
White has pictures from the day and described his condition.
“He was beaten from head to toe, black and blue, cuts all over, bleeding in the mouth, he was in pajama pants and a t-shirt, no socks, no shoes, still had his ankle alarm on and he was wet because he was laying in a creek," she said.
Thorne was taken to the hospital and is still recovering, now in hospice care. White says the 80-year-old veteran has Alzheimer’s and doesn’t remember what happened.
White says the nursing home hasn't apologized or given an explanation for why and how her father escaped.
“Do you feel like that place is safe?" asked 19 News Reporter, Sia Nyorkor.
“No. Not with an ankle bracelet, locked doors," said White.
White moved her father out of Manor Care and has hired an attorney from Obral, Silk & Associates.
They're investigating and filing a lawsuit.
“They have a duty to supervise Alzheimer’s and Dementia patients and if they can’t do that they shouldn’t be watching them," said Mark Obral.
White says this has traumatized their family and she doesn’t know if her father will ever recover.
“Knowing how scared he must’ve been, just kills me," she said.
ManorCare Nursing sent 19 news this statement:
“In accordance with federal and state laws and regulations, nursing centers are not permitted to discuss individual patients or residents who reside or have resided in a facility. ManorCare is committed to preserving this patients and his family’s confidentiality and privacy. ManorCare strives to create a secure and safe environment for all patients and will continue to ensure the health and safety of patients.”
"In answer to your other questions, it is my understanding that Mr. Thorne moved to another setting for his needs and is not in the hospital. We do not charge for care if a patient is no longer in our facility. We worked directly with Mr. Thorne’s power of attorney, who is his son, and feel we did express our sincerest apologies and worked with him to ensure we addressed his concerns and questions. But if we have not met this, we are happy to discuss this further with him. "
Julie Beckert
AVP Marketing Communications
HCR ManorCare
The original article is located at Cleveland19.com