Assisted-Living Facility Sued Over Death of Joe Louis' Sister

The Detroit News

Alzheimer patient, 92, found frozen in February outside Southfield center; 'It could have been prevented,' son says.

By Mike Martindale
July 17, 2008

DETROIT -- A wrongful death lawsuit was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court on behalf of the estate of the sister of boxing great Joe Louis, who froze to death after she wandered away from an assisted-living apartment complex.

Sidney High, son of Vunies B. High, is suing Capital Senior Living Properties 2, owners of the 160-unit Heatherwood complex at 22800 Civic Center Drive in Southfield.

At 10:30 a.m. Feb. 18, High -- a 92-year-old woman with Alzheimer's disease clad only in her pajamas -- was found 33 yards outside a complex door, her face "stuck to the ice on the ground," according to the lawsuit. She had last been seen inside at 8 the night before.

"It could have been prevented," said Sidney High, 43, of Detroit. "Knowing it could have been avoided is pretty tough to deal with, and I think someone should be held accountable."

The environmental engineer said he was promised his mother would be provided with 24-hour-a-day care in a "Personal Care Program" for residents that included safety checks during each staff shift, help dressing or undressing, and all services consistent with assisted-living facilities. Rent starts at $1,600 a month, with additional fees.

The lawsuit alleges The Heatherwood had a duty to protect Vunies High and other vulnerable adults from walking out unnoticed, and that facility staff neither monitored exit doors nor had an alarm system in place to alert workers of an emergency exit being opened during the night.

"This type of thing happens more often than people realize, and maybe (the lawsuit) will prompt operators to take a closer look at what they do and provide the protection needed," said her son.

The lawsuit, assigned to Judge David Lawson, seeks more than $75,000 in damages for the funeral, burial expenses and loss of companionship for Sidney High and relatives.

Dallas-based Capital Senior Living Properties, which owns and operates 64 senior living communities in 23 states, did not return calls Wednesday. The Heatherwood has not returned calls.

"These places need to be regulated," said Sidney High's attorney, Richard H. Bernstein. "If this can happen to Joe Louis' sister, it can happen to anybody."

Capital Senior provides housing and services for more than 9,400 seniors, and the company's worth in December was put at $189 million, said Bernstein. He said a loophole in the law in Michigan and elsewhere allows businesses to operate as independent-living facilities while marketing themselves as assisted-living facilities -- but without additional regulations or state oversight.

Joe Louis (Barrow) died in 1981 at the age of 66. Vunies High, who graduated from Detroit Cass Technical High School and was a longtime teacher and counselor in Detroit Public Schools, was the last survivor of the boxer's seven siblings. With her brother's financial help, she obtained degrees from Howard University and the University of Michigan.