SCOTTSDALE, AZ — A Scottsdale assisted-living facility is being sued after a grandfather wandered away last summer and was found dead in the desert.
“It’s a death that never should have happened,” said Bob Boatman, an attorney representing the family of 85-year-old Bob Pollmann.
The new lawsuit is raising questions about how and why he wandered away from his care facility last June. The lawsuit claims Brookhaven on 131st Place was negligent and failed to provide adequate supervision despite knowing he tended to wander.
The lawsuit claims Pollmann was unfamiliar with his surroundings and in a confused state. He walked out an unlocked front door on June 23. It took “approximately 40 minutes” for a staffer to notice he was missing and call 911, according to the lawsuit.
“So the fact that they went 40 minutes before even noticing he’s gone just compounds the tragedy,” Boatman said.
Brookhaven provided a statement to ABC15 that said, in part, their legal team will be able to respond to the accusations at a later date.
“Our entire team’s heartfelt sympathy has always been with the family of Mr. Pollmann. The health and safety of our residents is our number one priority,” the statement said.
Pollmann was a retired teacher, a father and grandfather who lived most of his life in South Dakota. His family said he was known for his huge garden, sharing beets and sweet corn with neighbors. He loved to sit in a lawn chair in the front yard, greeting people as they walked or biked.
The father of five took care of his wife of over 50 years, Janice, when doctors diagnosed her with blood cancer. She died in 2013.
His family said they noticed changes around the time he turned 80.
“He also would call multiple times a day and not remember that he had. He lost weight,” his daughter, Becky Sadler, told ABC15 in an interview last year.
Pollmann was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease around 2021, according to the lawsuit. For his safety, his family moved him into a care facility, first in his home state of South Dakota and more recently to Brookhaven on 131st Place so he could be closer to his Sadler, his oldest daughter, who lives in Scottsdale.
The lawsuit claims Brookhaven, “represented to (the Pollmann family) that Brookhaven was well equipped to care for residents with Alzheimer’s disease” and could meet all his needs.
He was there less than a month when a surveillance video shows him wandering out the front door on a Sunday afternoon. It was the last time he was seen alive.
Sadler rushed to the care home to search for his father. When Scottsdale police couldn’t immediately find him, they issued a Silver Alert through the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
Do you have a concern in your community or a news tip? We want to hear from you!
Connect with us: share@abc15.com
Pollmann was not found until two days later. A neighbor returning from a weekend trip saw a body in the wash behind her home. He was about 800 feet from his care home, according to a police report.
The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS), the state agency that licenses long-term care facilities, launched an investigation into what happened.
The ADHS report says Brookhaven’s front door alarm was not functioning on the day the state inspector arrived. ADHS cited the facility for failing to have strategies to ensure a resident’s safety.
It was not the first time Brookhaven was cited for one of their door alarms, according to state records. Six months prior, a door leading to a back patio did not have an alarm, according to the inspection. This was corrected, the inspector said.
As part of a settlement agreement with ADHS that isn’t related to the Pollmann family’s lawsuit, Brookhaven’s owners denied any liability or wrongdoing. They agreed to pay a $500 fine. They also agreed to safety measures, including training for all employees and having a manager on site at least 15 hours a week.
The Pollmann family hopes that by speaking out, they can bring awareness to the problem of what the long-term care industry refers to as “elopements.” Elopements are when older adults with dementia or Alzheimer’s wander away from care facilities without staff noticing.
Timothy Newman, an attorney for the Pollmann family, says the lawsuit’s message is that assisted-living facilities need to take their jobs seriously.
“They are in charge of the livelihood of some of Arizona’s most vulnerable residents,” he said.
The owners of Brookhaven provided a statement to ABC15 in response to the lawsuit. Here is the statement in its entirety:
“Our entire team’s heartfelt sympathy has always been with the family of Mr. Pollmann. The health and safety of our residents is our number one priority. It is unfortunate that the continued reporting surrounding this incident has allowed serval inaccurate and misleading statements to be spread. We appreciate the support and confidence of the families of our residents that know us well and continue to place their trust in us. Our legal defense team will be able to address Plaintiff’s counsel’s accusations at a later date.”
Email ABC15 Investigator Anne Ryman at: anne.ryman@abc15.com, call her at 602-685-6345, or connect on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Facebook.
