The widow of an Oregon man who walked out of an assisted living facility is suing the facility for wrongful death after her husband was found dead in a nearby creek.

Toufik “Tom” Tanous, 79, was a dementia patient at Hawthorne House, a care facility in Forest Grove. Tanous suffered from memory loss and had on at least two occasions tried to leave the facility.

On April 27, 2021, Tanous was able to successfully leave without being detected by staff. His disappearance resulted in a massive search that included drone support, rescue dogs, and personnel support. Tanous left the facility at around 8 PM, and it wasn’t until two days later that his body was found in a nearby creek.

The wrongful death lawsuit was filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court and is seeking $4.7 million in damages from the operator of the care facility, Caring Places Management LLC. A nearby assisted living facility, Forest Grove Beehive, along with the administrator of the facility Charity Jammeh, was also named in the lawsuit.

Tanous’ widow shared in a statement, “We cared for Tom at home during his dementia for more than a year,” explained Suzanne Tanous. “They had him for six days and he died, not from his disease while surrounded by family, but drowning face down in a creek, in the dark, terrified and alone.”

The lawsuit paints a detailed image of a facility that failed to implement tighter security measures for Tanous. The suit details that on April 23, Tanous tried to sleep in the room of another resident and that he was combative with staff when they tried to restrain him.

The next day, facility administrator Charity Jammeh spoke with Tanous’ wife about the incident. The lawsuit details that “Charity Jammeh spoke by telephone with Mrs. Tanous about the April 23rd incident, at which time Mrs. Tanous expressed doubts of the appropriateness of continued residency at The Hawthorne House for Mr. Tanous. Defendant Jammeh reassured Mrs. Tanous that defendants were fully able to provide safety and adequate care for her husband.”

The next day Tanous tried again to escape the facility and pull down a fire alarm near his room. The lawsuit goes on to share other details of Tanous’ escalating behavior regarding his security in the facility. Because of the facility's response, the lawsuit details that the defendants were responsible for failing to provide a safe environment, failing to meet necessary requirements, admitting Tanous despite knowing that his dementia was escalating to a point that caregivers could no longer support him, and that after his previous escape attempts, the facility failed to improve their security practices.

As part of Tanous’ lawsuit, she details $2.7 million in non-economic damages as a result of her husband’s pain and suffering and an additional $2 million as a result of the loss of companionship and society to Tanous’ family.