The estate of deceased Illinois resident Sandra D. Lee has sued nursing care company Alton NH, LLC, owner of the care facility River Crossing of Alton. The suit alleges that Lee's death on June 21, 2021, was due to a systemic infection caused by failure to properly treat pressure ulcers (also commonly known as bedsores) in violation of the state's Nursing Home Care Act.
Lee had been admitted to the facility in February 2021. At the time, staff noted that she had a "skin abnormality," including excoriations in both iliac crests and the left lower leg, and "A Skin Integrity Plan" was done "due to risk for altered skin integrity," the complaint says.
The complaint says that Lee was in poor health. "On or before March 1, 2021, Ms. Lee was found to have syncope, COVID-19, asthma, chronic respiratory failure with hypoxia, COPD, congestive heart failure, paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, hypertension, atherosclerotic heart disease, executive function deficits, anemia, gout, nicotine dependence, seizures, history of falling, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, UTI, hyperlipidemia, hypokalemia, Parkinson's, osteoarthritis, dependence on oxygen, major depressive disorder, anxiety, dermatitis, and diarrhea," it says.
The facility's staff also made notes at the time that Lee needed help moving around in bed and had shown signs of a decrease in physical strength and mobility, the complaint alleges. On February 17, 2021, a speech therapy evaluation showed that Lee had shown signs of confusion, cognitive impairment, decreased safety awareness, and an increased need for assistance from others. "On February 21, an MDS indicated that Ms. Lee needed extensive assistance in bed mobility, personal hygiene, toileting, and dressing," and a March 21 care plan said she suffered from "impairment/excoriation to skin integrity of the buttocks... She is at risk for developing worsened skin issues," the complaint says.
In mid-April 2021, Lee developed pressure injuries and was found to have pressure ulcers on her sacrum and coccyx. The ulcers didn't heal and ultimately deteriorated and became infected; more pressure ulcers appeared, and the infection caused Lee to develop more health conditions, including internal infection, severe sepsis and septic shock, the complaint says.
Her treatment continued until June 14, 2021, and she died a week later.
The complaint alleges that the facility committed numerous failures in caring for Ms. Lee, including failing to provide adequate care and treatment to prevent or treat pressure sores and wounds, failing to develop and implement an appropriate care plan for Lee, failing to properly monitor and document pressure sores that developed on Lee's body, failing to keep Lee free from avoidable pressure sores, failing to timely notify Lee's family regarding changes in her condition, failing to inform her physicians of her deteriorating condition and failing to send her to a facility that could provide a greater degree of care.
Another defendant, Greystone Health Management Midwest, LLC, which provided River Crossing with consultant services before Lee's death, was named in the suit for alleged common law negligence and violating the Wrongful Death Act.
The complaint, filed by Charles Armbruster of the law firm Armbruster Dripps Blotevogel LLC, seeks unspecified damages for the family and compensation for the administrator of Lee's estate.