EDWARDSVILLE - Several Alton hospitals and care centers are accused of wrongful death after a patient allegedly died from sepsis and a bowel abscess.
Dawn Michelle Harris-Freezeland, as administrator of the estate for Joan Harris, filed the complaint on April 2 in Madison County Circuit Court, alleging violations of the Nursing Home Care Act.
Harris-Freezeland diled the suit against defendants Rosewood Care Center, OSF St. Anthony's Health Center, Alton Memorial Hospital, and the Eunice Smith Home, which are all located in Alton.
According to the complaint, the decedent fell in the parking lot of a grocery store in September 2017. After initially being diagnosed with no injuries, a fractured pelvis was discovered following a subsequent x-ray.
Harris was then placed in Rosewood Care Center for physical therapy and rehabilitation. However, the suit states she received no rehabilitation, and pressure sores were discovered after she was moved to home health care.
The complaint states the care center failed to perform rehabilitation, failed to ensure the health and safety of a resident, and failed to notify a physician in timely manner of a condition change.
Harris also allegedly suffered a bowel abscess and developed untreated bed sores. The claim links the late woman's time in the care center to her death in April the following year.
Harris was admitted to St. Anthony's in January 2018. She was suffering from high fever, abdominal pain, and high blood pressure, the suit states. She was discharged to the Eunice Smith Home on Feb. 7, 2018.
Following her removal to Eunice Smith, Harris-Freezeland claims a relative found Harris unresponsive. She was transferred to Alton Memorial Hospital, where she was diagnosed with sepsis, a bowel abscess, and fractured wrist, according to the complaint.
It was decided her sepsis had progressed beyond the point of treatment and that surgery for the abscess would be ineffective, the suit states. Harris died April 2, 2018, in hospice care.
The plaintiff, who is seeking more than $50,000 in damages, is represented by David Cates of Cates Mahony of Swansea.
Madison County Circuit Court case number 2020-L-0475