Crime & Safety
Parsippany Nursing Home Let Older Man Escape, Freeze To Death In Woods: Lawsuit
An older male patient went missing from CareOne and was found dead in the woods. His widow is now suing the assisted living facility.
PARSIPPANY, NJ — An older man went missing from a Parsippany nursing home and turned up dead in the woods hours later. Now his widow is suing CareOne at Parsippany, claiming the assisted living facility's negligence caused John Eschenbach to freeze to death.
CareOne staff reported Eschenbach missing to police at about 10:30 p.m. Feb. 18, according to the Morris County Prosecutor's Office. Authorities found the 79-year-old's body in a tree line along Route 80 at about noon the next day.
Read more: No Foul Play Suspected In Missing Parsippany Man's Death
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Dorothy A. Eschenbach — a Belvidere resident and John's widow — filed a lawsuit Thursday against the nursing home. The complaint claimed that CareOne at Parsippany failed to adequately protect her husband.
CareOne did not respond to Patch's request for comment in time for initial publication. Patch will update with any response.
Find out what's happening in Parsippanyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
John Eschenbach was admitted to CareOne around Feb. 7, according to the lawsuit filed in Morris County Superior Court. The facility knew Eschenbach had a "propensity to wander" and equipped him with an ankle monitor bracelet, the complaint said.
Despite this knowledge, CareOne failed to adequately supervise John Eschenbach, allowing him to walk out of the facility into the freezing night, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claimed that CareOne was responsible for wrongful death via negligence and violating Eschenbach's rights as a nursing home resident in New Jersey.
Dorothy A. Eschenbach sued CareOne as an individual and as the executor of her husband's estate. The lawsuit demanded a jury trial and seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
CareOne at Parsippany is a 118-bed nursing facility that provides subacute and long-term care, according to its website. CareOne has 53 facilities in New Jersey.
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