Catholic Church sued for resident's fall from care home window

The Catholic Church is being sued by the family of a man with dementia who fell from the second floor of a care home in Dundee.

Ninety-four-year-old Peter Connors died after falling from a window at Wellburn care home in May 2017, two weeks after he moved in.

The care home, which has since closed, was run by the Church's Diocese of Dunkeld. The Diocese of Dunkeld is one of the eight Roman Catholic Dioceses in Scotland and the diocese is now the focus of legal action brought by the deceased resident's family.

The family of Mr Connors said in a statement, issued through solicitors Digby Brown: "There are no words to describe the pain in losing Peter.

"He was a loving husband, dad and grandfather who despite his failing memory was still physically strong."

Mr Connors' family is pursuing a civil claim against the Church on the basis the care home allegedly failed to have measures in place to prevent the window being opened wide enough to enable Mr Connors to fall from it.

The Crown Office's investigation into Mr Connor’s death is ongoing.

The family's statement continued: "We hope our case against the diocese will hold them accountable for the senseless and avoidable loss of our father."

In response to the legal action, a spokesman for the Diocese of Dunkeld said: "Our thoughts and prayers remain with Mr Connor's family following his tragic death last year.

"As Wellburn Care Home is now closed and the diocese subject to ongoing legal proceedings, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time."