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Civil suit seeks $750K in damages from business, caregiver accused ...World: news, information, headlines and events in Lawrence, Kansas 12/16/18, 11:48 AM <br />Before Shinn's arrest, one of the two men, Joseph Schaefer and his guardian <br />filed a civil suit against Shinn, ResCare and one of the company's supervisors. <br />Schaefer's civil suit was filed in Douglas County District Court in January 2016, <br />seeking at least $750,000 in damages. The lawsuit is requesting a jury trial. <br />The lawsuit lists Shinn ResCare Kansas Inc., ResCare Inc. and Kattie Johnson <br />as defendants. <br />ResCare is a national company and the largest private, in-home service provider <br />for the disabled, Kristen Trenamen, the company's director of communications, <br />said in May. The company has more than 900 employees in Kansas and 50,000 <br />across the country. <br />Trenamen said neither Shinn nor Johnson currently works for ResCare. <br />The lawsuit argues that not only did Shinn abuse Schaefer, but she, her <br />supervisor and the company neglected his safety in favor of maximizing <br />company profits. <br />In addition, not only did Shinn fail to act as a caregiver, but her supervisor and <br />her employer failed to provide adequate training and to ensure she was fulfilling <br />her responsibilities, the lawsuit says. <br />ResCare was "aware of this pattern of negligence, gross negligence, <br />wantonness, and reckless disregard and indifference to consequences and have <br />failed to correct it, knowing that residents like Schaefer could be harmed or are <br />harmed," the lawsuit says. <br />The failure to properly care for Schaefer stems from ResCare's decisions as a <br />company to cut costs through hiring unqualified employees, understaffing the <br />facilities, improperly training employees, paying low wages and leaving residents <br />unsupervised, the lawsuit continues. <br />Attorneys for the defendants did not return multiple calls seeking comment for <br />this story. However, answers filed by the defendants as a response to the lawsuit <br />deny allegations of wrongdoing. <br />http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2016/jul/25/civil-suit-seeks-750000-damages-caregiver-accused/ Page 3 of 5 <br />