Lawsuit Filed against Valley Assisted Living, Inc. for Wrongful Death, Fraudulent Nondisclosures

The Law Offices of J.M. Reinan, P.C. represents Johnnie Zweygardt, whose father, Rudy Zweygardt, died from hypothermia four hours after he eloped from the facility without the facility preventing his escape or noticing his prolonged absence. Valley Assisted Living (“VALI”) is located in Silver Cliff, Colorado.

The lawsuit was recently filed in Custer County District Court.  The lawsuit alleges, among other things, that VALI was negligent in failing to prevent Mr. Zweygardt from wandering outside of the building, particularly since it was on notice that Mr. Zwegardt, who suffered from dementia, had a history of wandering.  The lawsuit alleges that VALI failed to use an alarm system or other device that would have alerted its staff that Mr. Zweygardt was up and about or attempting to leave the building.  The lawsuit also alleges that the facility was negligent in failing to perform its routine checks on Mr. Zweygardt as required, allowing him to be missing for nearly four hours.

The lawsuit further alleges that VALI failed to disclose to Johnnie Zweygardt, who made the decision to place his father at VALI, that VALI was unable to safely house a resident with dementia and a propensity for wandering.