Hylla
An April 5 trial against an Edwardsville nursing home has been set aside.
Madison County Circuit Judge David Hylla will hear a move by defendant Rosewood Care Center for partial summary judgment April 9 instead.
Hylla vacated an order granting summary judgment to two amended defendants in the case, Larry Vander Maten and Darrell Hoefling on March 10.
Rosewood and the two amended defendants are fighting a suit brought by plaintiff Diana Obernuefemann, executor of the estate of Kathleen Adams.
The suit once again pits plaintiff attorney Robert Gregory against Rosewood attorney Dennis McCubbin. The two attorneys have fought battles over Rosewood's alleged negligence at two trials in a year's time. One ended in a victory for Gregory. The other verdict went to McCubbin.
According to the complaint, Adams was admitted to Rosewood in June 2006 with a diagnosis of narcotic overdose and aspiration pneumonia.
The suit claims that Rosewood was negligent in failing to notify Adams' next of kin as to the deterioration of her condition, failing to follow policies and failing to report neglect or abuse.
The suit alleges that Rosewood staff placed a pain patch on Adams without removing one she already wore.
As a result, the suit contends that Adams' condition worsened and she died the same month.
The suit seeks damages in excess of $50,000 under the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act and the state's Wrongful Death Act.
The case had been set for trial Monday.
The April 9 hearing is set for 1:30 p.m.
Hylla presided over the first of the two suits Gregory and McCubbin tried in the last year. That suit was brought by plaintiff Paul Graves on behalf of his father, Alfred. It was the second trial in the case and ended in a verdict for Paul Graves in the amount of about $150,000. The Graves trial ended late April 2009.
The second suit that the two men tried ended Feb. 25. The jury found for Rosewood in a case brought by plaintiff Martha Flanary on behalf of her deceased husband, Gerald. That trial was overseen by Madison County Chief Judge Ann Callis.
The Obernuefemann case is Madison case number 07-L-239.