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| Rebecca Fierle ignored reporters questions after she was released from the Marion County jail Tuesday. The former guardian is accused of abusing and neglecting a ward who died while in her care, 75-year-old Steven Stryker. (Monivette Cordeiro) |
Rebecca Fierle, the former Orlando guardian accused of abusing and neglecting an incapacitated client whose death sparked a statewide scandal in Florida’s guardianship system, may not stand trial until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, her attorney said Tuesday.
And a lawsuit filed against Fierle by the family of her dead ward,
Steven Stryker, will be delayed even longer after a judge granted her
request to put the civil trial on hold until her criminal case is
resolved.
During a hearing Tuesday conducted by conference call, attorney Barry
Postman argued Fierle would lose her Fifth Amendment right not to
incriminate herself in the criminal case if she was forced to first
defend herself against the same accusations in the civil trial.
The disgraced guardian is accused of aggravated abuse and neglect in
the death of Stryker, a 75-year-old man who died at a Tampa hospital in
2019. Medical staff were unable to attempt to save Stryker’s life
because Fierle had signed a “do not resuscitate” order against his
wishes and the protests of his daughter, health-care surrogate and
psychiatrist.
Despite Stryker stating “several times that he wanted to live,” Fierle
signed the DNR order and opted to have his feeding tube capped May 9,
according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Stryker, who was
using a feeding tube because he had difficulty swallowing, aspirated
and went into cardiac arrest, the suit said.
He died May 13.
“If she testifies in a civil case, she’s going to be compelled to
testify in a criminal case,” Postman said. “There is an absolute
prejudice.”
But Robin Treto, the attorney representing Stryker’s family, said
moving forward was important not only for his client but also for the
“elderly and the vulnerable in our community to get justice and reform.”
In his ruling, Circuit Judge Kevin B. Weiss said it was an “undisputed
fact” that both cases are based on the same circumstances. The order
requires check-ins on the status of Fierle’s criminal case every six
months starting in January.
Weiss’ order does not apply to the other entities being sued —
AdventHealth Orlando and Geriatric Management, Fierle’s business.
Stryker was a patient at AdventHealth Orlando when the hospital
petitioned a judge to declare him incapacitated and appoint Fierle his
guardian.
Without telling the court, Fierle billed AdventHealth nearly $4 million
over a decade for services she provided to 682 patients and sometimes
double-billed her wards for the same services, according to an audit by
the Orange County Comptroller’s office.
Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Canady suspended all
in-person jury trials in March but, as of early July, courts are allowed
to loosen those restrictions when local public health conditions improve — though no courts in Florida have met the criteria.
“It does not appear that there will be any — no one knows for sure —
jury trials in the rest of this calendar year in criminal cases, at
least,” said Warren Lindsey, Fierle’s attorney in her criminal case out
of Hillsborough. “We expect the case to be resolved sometime in calendar
year 2021.”
Fierle has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty.
Full Article & Source:
Ex-guardian Rebecca Fierle may not stand trial in ward’s death until 2021, attorney says
See Also:
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