85-year-old grandfather died in extreme heat after living facility staff ignored his ‘tendency to wander’: Lawsuit

Robert Pollmann died after allegedly wandering from his assisted living facility

Background: The Brookhaven on 131st Assisted Living Facility in Scottsdale, Ariz. (Google Maps). Inset: Robert Pollmann (Eidsness Funeral Home).

An elderly Arizona man with dementia died in the extreme heat after he allegedly wandered out of the assisted living facility that was tasked with watching his every move.

The family of Robert Pollmann, 85, filed a lawsuit in Maricopa County on Jan. 17, months after he died on June 25, 2024, after exposure to the extreme heat. According to the lawsuit, Pollmann had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and had a “tendency to wander.” This was something that the staff at Brookhaven on 131st Assisted Living was aware of, and now the family has accused the facility of negligence.

On the day Pollmann died, the air temperature was 117 degrees Fahrenheit. And according to the lawsuit, which was obtained by McClatchy News, staff at the facility knew that the retired educator was prone to wandering. He had reportedly left another facility and was found later trying to climb a tree. Brookhaven had reassured the family that they were “well equipped to care for residents with Alzheimer’s disease.”

According to the lawsuit, Pollmann, who had just arrived at the facility days before, left the facility through the front door. No one noticed he was missing for 40 minutes, at which point a staffer called 911. When they found him blocks away, he was already deceased.

The lawsuit noted that the facility’s front door had a faulty alarm, and that it had been cited for the problem in December 2023. KPHO, a local CBS affiliate, also reported that the front door apparently had a fault latch that wouldn’t close properly. “As a direct and proximate result of (the facility’s) negligence, careless acts, and omissions, (Pollmann) died,” the lawsuit said.

Bob Boatman, the attorney representing Pollmann’s family, said that there has been a “growing problem” at the facility of patients leaving without supervision. The family are suing for unspecified damages and have requested a jury trial.

Boatman told McClatchy News that the family hopes this case can spur changes at other assisted living facilities that treat Alzheimer’s patients.

85-year-old grandfather died in extreme heat after living facility staff ignored his ‘tendency to wander’: Lawsuit

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85-year-old grandfather died in extreme heat after living facility staff ignored his ‘tendency to wander’: Lawsuit

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