Professional Negligence Law Reporter
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Inadequate Security
November/December 2019Rowe v. Shannondell, Inc., No. 2017-26212 (Pa. Ct. Com. Pl. Montgomery Cnty. Apr. 17, 2019).
Ellen Hinds suffered from dementia with a tendency to wander and was unable to care for herself. She was admitted to a Shannondell, Inc., assisted living facility, where she was to receive assistance with activities of daily living and could transfer easily to nursing home care, if needed. After a heavy snowstorm, Hinds left her residence in the middle of the night. Approximately five hours later, she was found lying face down in the snow, attempting to keep warm in the freezing temperatures.
She was transferred to a hospital, where she was diagnosed as suffering from hypothermia and frostbite. She died that week.
Hinds’s son, on behalf of her estate, sued Shannondell, Inc., and affiliated entities, alleging wrongful death and survival claims. The plaintiff asserted that the defendants failed to prevent Hinds from leaving the facility and failed to monitor security cameras, among other things.
The parties settled for $2 million.
Plaintiff counsel: Robert P. Snyder and AAJ member Erik P. Snyder, both of King of Prussia, Pa.
