An Ohio nursing home falsely assured a family that their loved one’s condition was improving while she was, in reality, suffering from a worsening Stage 4 pressure ulcer that ultimately killed her, according to a newly filed lawsuit.

The legal complaint alleges that staff at Windsor House at Canfield misrepresented the condition of 75-year-old Judy Marsh, repeatedly documenting that she had “no open areas” on her skin even as her muscles and bones were exposed by severe bedsores.

Marsh was admitted to the facility in December 2024 after an 11-day hospital stay for pneumonia. Her physicians recommended rehabilitation, and the lawsuit states that she had no pressure wounds when she arrived. Marsh, who suffered from multiple sclerosis, was weak and had a limited ability to reposition herself, a condition the facility itself documented.

Despite physician orders requiring staff to turn and reposition Marsh every two hours, the complaint alleges that Windsor House staff instead “encouraged” her to reposition herself — without actually assisting her. Nurses also allegedly failed to change her soiled adult diapers in a timely manner, leaving urine and feces in direct contact with her skin and open wounds.

According to the lawsuit, staff performed “wildly inaccurate” skin assessments, either recording that Marsh had no wounds at all or failing to complete assessments altogether. At the same time, her pressure wounds worsened, developing thick, leathery tissue that deteriorated into a deep, tunneling Stage 4 ulcer extending into her buttocks and pelvis.

By April 2025, Marsh was dead. Her cause of death was listed as sepsis due to decubitus wounds, with E. coli found in her pelvic bones. The exposed bones led to osteomyelitis, a dangerous and difficult-to-treat bone infection, the complaint states.

The family alleges that Windsor House continued to tell them the pressure ulcer was improving, even as photographs of the wound showed a steady and catastrophic decline. Marsh’s condition deteriorated rapidly in her final weeks, with the complaint noting she stopped eating and became nearly unresponsive before her death on April 6, 2025.

“This case reflects an avoidable and incomprehensible breakdown in basic care,” said Michael Hill, the attorney representing Marsh’s family. Hill said the lawsuit alleges that a profit-driven business model resulted in chronic understaffing, leaving vulnerable patients without the most fundamental levels of care.

“Judy Marsh paid for that corporate decision with her life,” Hill said.

The lawsuit seeks to hold the nursing home accountable for what the family describes as prolonged neglect, falsified medical records, and a preventable death.