Yandle
St. Clair County Associate Judge Vincent Lopinot on Aug. 13 reset a status conference to Nov. 19 in two sisters' case against Midwest Rehab and Respiratory Center and its management company, Senior Healthcare Management, after their father wandered from a nursing home and later died.
The lawsuit was filed Feb. 21 by attorney Staci Yandle of O'Fallon.
Terri Dancy and Linda Woods claim the nursing home was negligent and violated the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act by failing to implement appropriate care plan interventions and updating Giles' care plan to prevent him from escaping, failing to monitor and supervise Giles who had a history of attempting to leave, failing to inform Giles' doctors and his family about his escape attempts, failing to notify local law enforcement and Giles' family of his escape from the nursing home on Jan. 14, and failing to staff the home with enough nursing personnel.
Aubrey Giles died after wandering away from Midwest Rehab and Respiratory Center in Belleville on Jan. 14, according to the complaint.
He was found two days later in a frozen creek less than one block from the nursing home. Giles was 77 years old and suffered from dementia. He had resided at the home for seven years, according to the complaint.
The defense stated in their affirmative defenses that the "sole proximate cause of the alleged injuries and damages to the plaintiffs was something other than the acts or omissions of defendants."
Fred A. Smith and David M. Goldhaber of Chicago represent the defense.
The case is St. Clair County Case number 12-L-95.