BAZETTA TWP., Ohio - A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against Clear Skies Ahead, a Bazetta Township group home, alleging staff failed to act for days as 41-year-old James Stewart showed signs of severe constipation and declining health.

According to the complaint, staff “did nothing for weeks to help James or prevent his entirely avoidable death.”

Stewart, who had intellectual disabilities, “had not had a bowel movement anywhere from several weeks to as long as a month,” the lawsuit states.

Staff allegedly observed that he was not feeling well, had a distended abdomen and was acting differently in the days leading up to his death.

Attorney Michael Mooney, who represents the family,  told 21 News, “This is something that was just not paid attention to. Was completely missed.”

Mooney said Stewart’s history of constipation was well known to Clear Skies Ahead.

“They should have been paying close attention to whether James was having bowel movements, and they just weren't,” he said, “This was something that was on their radar. They knew about it. They still weren't paying attention to it.”

The lawsuit also alleges that a manager from Clear Skies Ahead and an employee from Fairhaven Industries (which is part of the United Network Alliance) attended a telehealth psychiatric appointment with Stewart the day before he died, but failed to report his symptoms.

On November 15, Stewart was found unresponsive in his bedroom. He was later pronounced dead.

The Trumbull County Coroner determined that Stewart had more than 20 pounds of impacted feces in his colon, according to the lawsuit. 

Mooney said the impaction caused severe internal pressure.

“It caused pressure within his intestines that pushed air through the walls of his intestines and into the cavities of his body," he added, "and that's what killed him."

He added that Stewart’s death was preventable.

“James did not have to die,” Mooney said, “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.”

21 News reached out to Clear Skies Ahead and Fairhaven Industries seeking comment, but has not yet heard back.