Compensation secured for the spouse of a dementia patient who was attacked in a care home

Mr G was a patient in a specialist care home for people living with advanced dementia. In the early hours of the morning, another dementia patient in the care home, who was known for having a history of violence, walked into Mr G’s room during a bout of confusion and assaulted him.

Mr G suffered a blow to the head, and a serious brain bleed as a result. Mr G, unfortunately, died whilst being treated in hospital.

Following a short police investigation, the charges were dropped due to the fact the assailant themselves suffered from severe dementia and would not have had any understanding of the consequences of their actions.

Thomas Kamlow was able to successfully argue that the care home in question, should have provided more security for Mr G and other residents of the ward to prevent anyone accessing their private rooms without authorisation, and that the assailant should have been under closer supervision, due to their violent tendencies.

Following an inquest into Mr G’s death, it was also noted by the coroner that the care home had displayed a pattern of poor record keeping, and a failure to learn from past incidents. There was also allegedly a previous attack by this patient that had not been recorded by the defendant.

Initially, the care home denied all liability, and court proceedings were commenced. Thomas Kamlow sought the services of a Nursing, Neurosurgery and Geriatric experts who were able to support our client’s claim for negligence.

The defendant care home agreed to a settlement out of court.