Helen Ende was 89 years old and suffered from dementia. While she was a resident at Parkside Manor, she was allowed, unnoticed, to wander off the premises and remain outside in the cold for almost seven hours before the nursing home staff realized she was missing. She froze to death. Ende is survived by her son.
Ende’s son, on behalf of her estate, sued Parkside Manor’s parent company, Encor Wisconsin LLC, alleging that its manager and staff disregarded Ende’s safety rights.
The Ende estate maintained that Encor’s policy required staff members to account for all residents after an alarm sounds. But on the night of Ende’s death, the three workers on duty chose not to follow this policy. The estate also alleged that one worker left the nursing home facility for multiple hours during his shift.
After a jury trial, the jury signed a verdict for $4 million in punitive damages. The attorneys successfully handling this tragic matter were Benjamin Wagner and Molly Lavin.
Ende v. West Bend Mutual Insurance Co., No. 2023CV000182 (Wis. Cir. Ct. Kenosha County).
Kreisman Law Offices has been handling nursing home wrongful death lawsuits, nursing home wandering lawsuits, medical malpractice cases, and birth injury cases for individuals, families and loved ones who have been harmed, injured or died as a result of the carelessness or negligence of a medical provider for more than 49 years in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including Bolingbrook, Elgin, Aurora, North Barrington, Inverness, Glenview, Riverside, Morton Grove, Oak Lawn, Chicago (Rogers Park, Back of the Yards, Pilsen, Chinatown, Greek Town, Wrigleyville, North Lawndale, Andersonville), Deerfield, Orland Park and Arlington Heights, Ill.
Robert D. Kreisman has been an active member of the Illinois and Missouri bars since 1976.
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Wandering Nursing Home Resident Left to Die in Cold
$200,000 Jury Verdict for Failure to Monitor Nursing Home Resident