The relative of a deceased Emmaus Homes resident is taking the organization to court for wrongful death.Longtime Emmaus resident Lloyd Roeckel died Dec. 16, 2016, allegedly as a result of injuries he sustained after being moved to an Emmaus group home in Truesdale.Representatives of Roeckel’s nephew, Brian Smith of St. Louis, say Roeckel was hospitalized and later died after falling down a set of stairs leading to the basement of the home. They contend that negligence on the part of his caretakers led to the fall.Emmaus Homes Inc. is a private, nonprofit, faith-based organization that provides 24-hour residential and caretaking services for adults with developmental disabilities.Roeckel was moved to the home in Truesdale late last year, as part of an effort to relocate all of the residents from Emmaus’ Marthasville campus, where he had lived for 15 years, the lawsuit states.Roeckel, who was 71, was known to have a fall risk due to a hip replacement surgery, according to the lawsuit. Emmaus agreed that the basement staircase in the group home he was moving to would be modified to have ADA compliant railings and a gate at the top, according to the suit.An Emmaus employee allegedly told Smith that Roeckel would not use the stairs except during a weather emergency.When Roeckel moved in, however, the safety equipment allegedly was not installed on the staircase, and staff had placed an exercise bike for Roeckel’s regular physical therapy in the basement of the home, according to the lawsuit.It was at the direction of Emmaus staff, the lawsuit claims, that Roeckel was going down the stairs to use the exercise bike on Dec. 2 and fell while halfway down the stairs. Roeckel suffered facial injuries, a broken nose and multiple spinal fractures, according to the suit.He died while hospitalized two weeks later of cardiac arrest and respiratory failure, according to official state records.Emmaus Chief Development Officer Lisa Drier said the organization is not at liberty to discuss information about clients or pending litigation, but that Emmaus remains committed to providing high-quality services for its clients.“Our client services team works with clients and their family members to make sure we’re doing everything possible to ensure the safety of our clients. It’s our highest priority,” Drier said. “All of our staff undergo extensive training prior to working with clients. Each client has an individual care plan that addresses specific needs.”Care plans are given to staff members months before a client is moved to a group home, Drier said.Daniel Finney Jr., an attorney representing Smith, said the fall occurred a couple days after Roeckel moved into the Emmaus group home. Finney stated that Roeckel’s health failure was a “progression of his hospitalization.”“We’re just trying to hold (Emmaus) responsible for not having a safer environment for its patients,” Finney said.Finney declined to specify which Emmaus employee stated that Roeckel would not use the stairs except in an emergency, citing ongoing legal proceedings.Smith is seeking an unspecified amount of compensation in excess of $75,000 for wrongful death.Emmaus has been transitioning residents to small community homes throughout Warren County since the organization’s board of directors voted in 2015 to close its 650-acre campus in Marthasville by 2020. Officials said at the time that it had become too costly to maintain the campus.Community homes typically have three to four residents, cared for by about half a dozen staff members, according to information from Emmaus and the Boonslick Regional Planning Commission.Emmaus