Mary Anaya: A Courageous and Loving Mother

It is with great sadness that we learned today of the death of one of our clients, Mary Anaya.

She was a courageous, principled, and loving wife, mother, minister, and friend.

May God rest her soul.

Woman’s spirit stilled by disease
By Erin Grace
Omaha World Herald
Published Thursday October 22, 2009

Anaya2
In this October 2007 photo, Mary Anaya is surrounded by her children. She holds son Joel, 6 weeks old at the time. Anaya, co-founder of Omaha’s largest food pantry, died Wednesday of lung cancer, an extremely rare diagnosis during pregnancy.

Mary Anaya fed the hungry and clothed the naked, all the while mothering 10 children, plus the one growing in her womb. But she died early Wednesday at age 42, leaving behind her family and a long record of loving her neighbor as herself.

Though diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer early in her pregnancy, she tried to continue her work with the food pantry she co-founded, Mission for All Nations. It is the largest food pantry in a 93-county area of Nebraska and Iowa.

But she died early Wednesday at age 42, leaving behind her family and a long record of loving her neighbor as herself.

Anaya died after midnight at Bergan Mercy Medical Center, said the pantry’s board president, David Philson, who is serving as a family spokesman. So did the 19-week-old fetus due in March whom she carried.

A funeral service will be at 9 a.m. Saturday at Glad Tidings Church, 7415 Hickory St.

Anaya lived a rare life through her service, her large family and, in her final months, trying to bear new life while confronting her impending death.

“Mary just was the organization,” said Michelle Moyes Dill, executive director of Together Inc., a nonprofit that distributes food and clothes. “You said, ‘Mary Anaya,’ and everybody knew it was Mission for All Nations. She gave everything she had. I think (she and husband Josue) would have given the last box of food out of their home cupboard to help somebody.”

Posted on October 22, 2009 in Uncategorized
Comments Off

Keating, O’Gara Attorney Gary Young Fights for Residents and Employees of Lancaster Manor

Coalition criticizes potential buyer of Lancaster Manor
Lincoln Journal Star
By Algis J. Laukaitis
July 21, 2009

lancaster-manorA group that is fighting to keep Lancaster Manor from being sold has asked the County Board to stop negotiating with the sole potential buyer because, the group alleges, the potential owner has a bad track record of running nursing homes.

The Save the Manor Coalition claims Hunter Management, based in Evanston, Ill., is owned by the Rothner family, which owns interest in more than 40 nursing homes throughout the Midwest, including Nebraska.

“Over and over again the various nursing homes and related companies owned by this family have proven to be among the most low quality facilities in the country,” said Kim Kaspar, co-leader of the coalition, in a news release.

Kaspar is president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 2568, the union that represents employees of the county-owned nursing home.

The coalition, through its attorney, Gary Young, released a report Monday night questioning the Rothner family’s ability to provide quality care in its nursing homes, something that the County Board has repeatedly said was its highest priority.

The investigative report was compiled through the use of the Internet, newspaper articles and other reports about quality care.

Posted on July 21, 2009 in Labor Law
Comments Off

$600,000 Settlement Reached in Wrongful Death at Beatrice State Developmental Center

olivia-pic-cropped.jpgA settlement has been reached in the case of Olivia Manes who died tragically at the Beatrice State Developmental Center on January 16, 2009.

Keating, O’Gara attorney Jefferson Downing, who along with Jim Bartimus and Mike Rader of the Bartimus, Frickleton firm in Kansas City, represented the Manes said, “This is a very, very good settlement. Both sides worked hard to achieve it.”

The settlement was approved by the State Claims Board today based upon the Department of Health and Human Service agency’s recommendation: “The Department believes that there was negligence in this case, and requests that the claim be approved in this amount.”

David and Tina Manes remain committed to seeing something positive come from their daughter’s death. “The Manes will continue to work for constructive change at BSDC. They are committed to seeing something positive result from their personal tragedy,” said Downing.

Since it is a matter of public record, the settlement agreement can be viewed here.

Posted on March 23, 2009 in Medical Malpractice, Medical Malpractice Lawyer Lincoln Nebraska, Nebraska Medical Malpractice Attorney, Nebraska Wrongful Death Attorney, Wrongful Death
Comments (0)

Keating, O’Gara Attorneys Win Critical Appeal in Employment Case

Keating, O’Gara attorneys Doug Peterson and Joel Bacon won a critical appeal on behalf of a client who was wrongly terminated from his employment.

Former Beatrice bank worker wins appeal
Saturday, Mar 14, 2009 – 09:00:17 am CDT
The Associated Press

OMAHA – A federal appeals court has reversed a lower court’s decision against a former Beatrice bank worker who said he lost his job because of his rare voice disorder.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday said the U.S. District Court was wrong to rule in favor of First National of Nebraska before trial and against Jeffrey Willnerd. There are significant facts in the case that warrant a jury trial.

The case has been sent back to the federal court.

First National is the parent company of First National Bank.


Willnerd, of Beatrice, sued First National in 2005, saying the company’s decision to eliminate his job and refuse to rehire him violated rights guaranteed by the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Years earlier, Willnerd was diagnosed with a neurological voice disorder that made it difficult for him to speak.

First National has said Willnerd’s job was eliminated for economic reasons. The company also said he wasn’t rehired because of the merits of other job applicants, according to court documents.

In 2007, a federal judge granted First National’s request for a summary judgment in its favor, without a trial.

But, said the three-judge appellate panel, “Because reasonable jurors could resolve these outstanding questions in Willnerd’s favor and conclude he is entitled to relief on his claims, we reverse.”

Doug Peterson, Willnerd’s Lincoln-based attorney, said he was encouraged by the decision and believes the court analysis was very complete.

Phone messages left with First National’s attorneys were not immediately returned.

Posted on March 16, 2009 in Employment Discrimination Nebraska Attorney, Employment Law, Labor Law, Lincoln Nebraska Employment Discrimination Attorney, Nebraska Employement Discrimination Lawyer, Nebraska Employment Discrimination
Comments (0)

Lincoln Journal Star Covers Keating, O’Gara Tort Claim Filing for Death of Olivia Manes

manes-family.jpg
Olivia Manes, seated between her parents, Tina and David Manes, and pictured with older sister Suzanne, age 20, and brother Jesse, age 14, at Christmas time.

From the Lincoln Journal Star:

Parents sue state to get answers in daughter’s death
By DEENA WINTER
Lincoln Journal Star
Friday, Feb 13, 2009

At first, she was known only as Client 1.

An 18-year-old Beatrice State Developmental Center client had died.

Three hours after going into a seizure, she was dead.

She hadn’t had a seizure since 1999, when she began taking Klonopin to control them.

Her parents didn’t know it, but three days earlier, Beatrice staff had stopped giving her the medication, triggering what their attorney calls “a cascading series of medical errors.”

At about 3 a.m. on Jan. 16, her parents were awakened by the Pawnee County sheriff.

Client 1, as she was referred to in a state investigation, was dead.

But she had a name: Olivia Manes.

On Thursday, Tina and David Manes filed a $1.75 million claim against the state for wrongful death and the “pre-death terror, pain and suffering” of their daughter Olivia. They alleged at least 10 errors in her care.

A spokeswoman for the state declined to comment on the filing.

Tina and David learned Olivia had Dandy-Walker Syndrome when she was 2 months old. She was blind and mentally retarded. She never walked. She had 15 to 20 seizures per day.

They kept her home until she was 6 and it became clear they could no longer care for her. She had difficulty swallowing. Feeding her took a couple of hours. She wasn’t getting enough fluids.

Immediately, they knew where they wanted her to live.

David’s older brother, Mark, had Down Syndrome and lived at the Beatrice center.

“I grew up out there,” said David, a Beatrice native.

Tina said she felt guilty because she had “selfishly” kept Olivia at home longer than perhaps she should have. When she went to Beatrice, she was so small and possibly malnourished they could carry her like a toddler.

In Beatrice, she learned to eat, drink and swallow properly. She came to love eating.

She thrived, particularly after she began taking one tablet of seizure medicine daily. It was her lifeline.

She loved music especially Shania Twain and Christmas songs. She loved feeling the breeze on her face when someone pushed her wheelchair outside.

The Maneses and their son and another daughter live 39 miles away from Beatrice, in Steinauer. They visited Olivia at least weekly.

When she heard their voices, her mother said, she would light up and reach her hands out for a bear hug that could give you whiplash.

She loved to nestle her cheek next to yours, Tina said, crying at the memory.

They felt like she was meant to spread joy at Beatrice.

When they got the call telling them she’d died, they couldn’t understand how their girl, who hadn’t had a seizure since 1999, could be gone.

Two weeks after burying their daughter, the Maneses learned some of the heartbreaking details of Olivia’s death while watching the evening news.

Posted on February 13, 2009 in Medical Malpractice, Medical Malpractice Lawyer Lincoln Nebraska, Medication Errors, Nebraska Medical Malpractice Attorney, Nebraska Wrongful Death Attorney, Wrongful Death, Wrongful Death Lawyer Lincoln Nebraska
Comments (0)

From offices in Lincoln, Nebraska, attorneys at Keating, O'Gara, Nedved & Peter, P.C., L.L.O. serve clients in Lincoln, Grand Island, Kearney, Omaha, Hastings, Norfolk, Fremont, Beatrice, Broken Bow, Valentine, Lexington, North Platte, McCook, Ainsworth, O' Neill, Wayne, Norfolk, Fairbury, Kimball, Sidney, Seward, York, Aurora, Columbus, and communities throughout Lancaster County, Adams, Buffalo, Custer, Gage, Hall, Lincoln and Red Willow Counties, and those injured in traffic accidents on Interstate Highway 80, and Nebraska state highways 81, 83, 183, and 281.