The trial for a wrongful death lawsuit against Hillcrest Family Services has been delayed for the second time because of scheduling conflicts.
The trial is now scheduled for Aug. 11, 2009.
Rodney and Michelle Skadburg, of Mason City, Iowa, brought the suit against Hillcrest after their 16-year-old son, Michael, hanged himself on the Dubuque campus of the treatment center in April 2004. The suit alleged that Hillcrest left Michael Skadburg unattended "in a clearly suicidal state."
Hillcrest denied the allegation, stating the incident was thoroughly investigated by city, county and state officials and the staff were found to be in compliance with all policies and procedures.
The trial initially was slated for January 2008, but a judge bumped it to September for scheduling conflicts. Originally, if the case weren't tried by July 2009, it would have been automatically dismissed, according to court procedure. However, a judge waived the automatic dismissal deadline when attorneys had trouble completing all the depositions for the case in time "because of the geographic location of key witnesses," documents state. Many of the witnesses are now living across the United States.