Group home resident dies due to 20 pound bowel obstruction that went untreated

A wrongful death lawsuit filed against a group home in Ohio claims the staff ignored weeks of warning signs before a resident died from a massive bowel obstruction that grew so severe it weighed more than 20 pounds.

James Stewart, 41, who had “intellectual and/or developmental disabilities” and a known “history of constipation,” was taking medications that caused severe gastrointestinal side effects, according to the lawsuit viewed by The Independent.

His family, who filed the complaint against Clear Skies Ahead in Bazetta Township, said he lived at the home because he required daily supervision and assistance.

But last year, the home failed to monitor Stewart’s health, disregarding his repeated reports of abdominal pain and constipation, and neglecting to alert medical providers or relatives as his condition deteriorated, according to the lawsuit, which called his death “entirely avoidable.”

The lawsuit claimed that Stewart “had not had a bowel movement anywhere from several weeks to as long as a month.” Staff allegedly noticed that he was unwell, his abdomen was distended, and he was behaving unusually in the days leading up to his death on November 15, 2024.

Stewart experienced worsening abdominal pain for days and appeared “despondent, low energy, and complaining of pain.” His symptoms were allegedly visible, including bruising on his abdomen “noticeable upon any reasonable inspection.”

But despite these signs, the lawsuit claims that Clear Skies staff and contracted workers neither notified Stewart’s physician nor informed his family.

The Independent has reached out to Clear Skies for comment.

On November 15, the day Stewart died, a staff member reportedly told him to “sit on the toilet,” but he was unable to have a bowel movement.

Later that day, Stewart was found unresponsive in his bedroom. First responders noted that he had a “discolored line across his abdomen, and that his abdomen was significantly distended — or swollen — and rigid to touch,” according to the lawsuit.

Stewart was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The Trumbull County Coroner determined that his colon was obstructed by a hardened stool that “weighed over 20 pounds,” creating enough internal pressure to cause tension pneumoperitoneum – which is when gas is forced through microtears in his intestinal wall.

“It caused pressure within his intestines that pushed air through the walls of his intestines and into the cavities of his body,” Mooney said, “and that’s what killed him.”

“James did not have to die,” he added. “If he was treated with the dignity, respect and within the dictates of his individual service plan, by Fairhaven and Clear Skies Ahead, this would never have happened.”

Stewart’s family described him as someone who loved music, swimming, concerts and sporting events.