Family Files Wrongful Death Suit Against Crestwood Nursing Home

Robert Hudson, of Chicago, filed a wrongful death suit on behalf of his late wife, Catherine Hudson on Friday afternoon in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The suit was filed against Symphony of Crestwood, a nursing home located at 14255 South Cicero Avenue in Crestwood, Ill. The suit alleged that Symphony was responsible for Catherine’s development of pressure sores, a knee fracture, and the improper reinsertion of a gastrostomy tube that caused an infection and eventually led to her death. The family is represented by Steven Levin, Margaret Battersby Black and Daniel Goldfaden of Levin & Perconti.

Catherine Hudson, then 53, was admitted to Symphony in the spring of 2011. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and required assistance with daily activities due to her developing disease. When she was admitted to the nursing home, staff developed a plan of care to address her needs. During Catherine’s residency, she suffered several injuries as a result of the staff’s failure to follow this plan.

In the spring of 2013, Catherine developed multiple infected pressures sores. In June 2014, she fractured her left knee. Two months later, doctors placed a feeding tube in her stomach to ensure that she received proper nutrition. On August 19, 2014, her feeding tube became dislodged. The staff reinserted the feeding tube without confirming proper placement using X-ray imaging. They continued to feed her through the improperly inserted tube, and this caused liquid food to leak throughout her body and widespread infection. The following day, Catherine was admitted to a local hospital where she died 11 days later as a result of her injuries caused by the tube’s improper positioning.

“Catherine was completely dependent on the nursing staff at Symphony of Crestwood. Catherine and her family entrusted the nursing staff at Symphony of Crestwood to provide her with proper care related to her feeding tube including properly reinserting her feeding tube if it became dislodged,” said Steve Levin. “In this instance, her injury and subsequent death were completely avoidable. If it not for the improper and dangerous nursing care Catherine received at Symphony of Crestwood she would still be alive today.”

“The Illinois Department of Public Health cited Symphony of Crestwood for failing to confirm the proper placement of Catherine’s feeding tube before administering tube feedings, failing to stop tube feedings immediately upon any signs of malfunction, and for failing to notify a physician as soon as there were any issues with her feeding tube,” stated Margaret Battersby Black.

“I visited the nursing home often, sometimes four or five times a week,” said Robert Hudson, Catherine’s husband. “One of my major concerns was bed sores and during care plan meetings, I requested countless times that the staff and administrators get her out of bed. When they did get her out of bed, it was very infrequent and of short duration. She would smell of urine and feces from time to time. On many occasions her Foley bag would be full and there would be food residue under her fingernails. The family and I would often come to the nursing home to provide grooming care. When I would bring her home on occasion and bathe her, I would notice that her hygiene was poor. She eventually developed bed sores. When her leg was fractured, the administrators couldn’t provide a reasonable explanation as to how it happened.”

“We were all devastated to say the least. It was unexpected, and we were all blindsided,” stated Robert on behalf of his family. “There is a huge void and emptiness in our hearts. Though she was bedridden and in a nursing home, we always brought her home on holidays, birthdays and other occasions. Through it all, we tried to make her happy, and make the best out of the situation. We were all shocked, angry and saddened by the whole situation.”

“As a family, we decided to turn our anger into action,” added Robert. “We decided to file a lawsuit in hope of exposing the nursing home to bring this terrible mishap to the public’s attention.”

ALSO ON PATCH