The widow of Eagles guitarist Glenn Frey sued Mount Sinai Hospital Tuesday, claiming that a GI doctor failed to properly treat the rock icon’s fatal stomach ailment. Cindy Frey filed the lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court just two days before the second anniversary of her late husband’s death at age 67.
She charged that gastroenterologist Steven Itzkowitz botched the treatment of the musician’s ulcerative colitis between Oct. 19, 2015, and November 2015. Itzkowitz and the hospital failed to properly treat the inflammatory bowel disease, assess respiratory issues, diagnose and treat infection or promptly hospitalize Frey, the wrongful death suit alleges.
Since approximately 2000, Frey suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, which affected various joints of his body. The medication that he was prescribed to control the disease eventually led to colitis and pneumonia, and in November 2015, the Eagles announced that they were postponing their appearance at the Kennedy Center Honors as Frey required surgery for intestinal problems and a lengthy recovery period. Following surgery, he was placed in a medically-induced coma at Columbia University Medical Center. Frey died there on January 18, 2016 at the age of 67 from complications of rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis, and pneumonia, while recovering from gastrointestinal tract surgery. Medications for rheumatoid arthritis or ulcerative colitis can compromise the immune system’s ability to fight off pneumonia.
