NEW YORK (Reuters) - The widow of Glenn Frey on Tuesday filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan over its treatment of the former co-lead singer and guitarist for The Eagles before he died in January 2016 at age 67. 
 
 FILE PHOTO: Singer/guitarist Glenn Frey of the Eagles, with singer/drummer Don Henley in the background, performs in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., August 9, 2003. REUTERS/Ethan Miller/File Photo 
 
 Cindy Frey accused the hospital and gastroenterologist Steven Itzkowitz of negligence for failing to properly treat her late husband’s ulcerative colitis, diagnose and treat infection, and advise of the risks and side effects from treatment. 
 
 As a result, “Glenn Frey was rendered sick, sore, lame and disabled,” and suffered pain and mental anguish prior to his Jan. 18, 2016 death, according to the complaint filed in a New York state court in Manhattan. 
 
 Frey had been under Itzkowitz’s care from Oct. 19, 2015 to November 2015, the complaint said. 
 
 FILE PHOTO: Guitarist Glenn Frey (L) performs with the Eagles at the opening night of the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, California, U.S., October 18, 2007. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo 
 
 He died of complications from acute ulcerative colitis, pneumonia and rheumatoid arthritis, The Eagles have said. 
 
 Mount Sinai spokeswoman Lucia Lee said the hospital does not comment on pending litigation. Eric Turkewitz, a lawyer for Cindy Frey, declined to elaborate on the lawsuit’s substance. 
 
 FILE PHOTO - Glenn Frey of the rock group 'The Eagles' performs at a concert in honour of Monaco's Prince Albert II and his fiancee Charlene Wittstock at the Stade Louis II stadium in Monaco June 30, 2011. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier 
 
 The complaint seeks unspecified damages for Cindy Frey, who had three children with her late husband and oversees his estate. 
 
 It was filed shortly before the expiration of New York’s two-year statute of limitations for wrongful death cases. 
 
 State law requires lawyers to consult with doctors in medical malpractice actions before suing, to determine whether cases have merit. 
 
 It also permits lawsuits such as Frey’s to be filed when lawyers cannot reasonably obtain such consultations before the two-year deadline expires. 
 
 Glenn Frey was a co-founder of The Eagles in 1971 and collaborated with drummer Don Henley on many of its biggest hits, with Frey taking lead vocals on such songs as “Take It Easy,” “Lyin’ Eyes” and “Heartache Tonight.” 
 
 In the 1980s, Frey had solo success with such songs as “The Heat Is On,” recorded for the movie “Beverly Hills Cop.” ||||| Glenn Frey of the Eagles performs at Philips Arena on Feb. 24, 2014 in Atlanta. 
 
 Cindy Frey is accusing Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan and gastroenterologist Steven Itzkowitz of negligence. 
 
 Eagles co-founder Glenn Frey's widow has filed a lawsuit against Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan over its treatment of the musician before his death in 2016 at the age of 67. 
 
 As Reuters reports, Cindy Frey is accusing the hospital and gastroenterologist Steven Itzkowitz of negligence that rendered him "sick, sore, lame and disabled," causing him pain and mental anguish leading up to his death. In the suit, she claims the hospital and Itzkowitz failed to properly treat her husband's ulcerative colitis, diagnose and treat infection and advise of the risks and side effects from treatment. 
 
 According to the complaint, Glenn Frey was under Itzkowitz's care from Oct. 19. 2015, to November 2015. 
 
 Glenn Frey died on Jan. 18, 2016, due to complications from acute ulcerative colitis, pneumonia and rheumatoid arthritis. Following Glenn Frey's death, Eagles manager Irving Azoff said that Frey's illnesses were partly caused by the medication he was taking for his rheumatoid arthritis. 
 
 "The colitis and pneumonia were side effects from all the meds," Azoff said in an interview with The Wrap. "He died from complications of ulcer and colitis after being treated with drugs for his rheumatoid arthritis which he had for over 15 years." 
 
 Cindy Frey's lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. She had three children with her late husband and oversees his estate. ||||| The widow of Eagles co-founder Glenn Frey, Cindy Frey, has filed a wrongful death suit against Mount Sinai Hospital and the musician's gastroenterologist. 
 
 Related Glenn Frey: An Oral History Bob Seger, J.D. Souther, Eagles members and others retrace the life and career of the late, great Eagles singer/songwriter 
 
 The suit accuses Mount Sinai and physician Steven Itzkowitz of negligence and failing to properly treat and diagnose the musician. Frey died in January 2016 from complications from rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis – an inflammatory bowel disease – and pneumonia. Cindy Frey is seeking unspecified damages for pain and suffering, wrongful death and the loss of services of a spouse. 
 
 A representative for the Eagles declined to comment on the lawsuit, as did Cindy Frey's lawyer. A representative for Mount Sinai did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone's request for comment. 
 
 According to the complaint, Frey was in Itzkowitz's care from October 19th, 2015 to November 2015. It alleges that Mount Sinai and Itzkowitz failed to "promptly and properly treat [Frey's] ulcerative colitis and associated symptoms and diseases of the bowel." It also claims Mount Sinai and Itzkowitz did not properly assess Frey for respiratory issues, ignored and did not treat an infection and did not promptly hospitalize him. 
 
 The suit reads: "As a result of the foregoing acts of negligence, Glenn Frey was rendered sick, lame and disabled, suffered injuries, pain, mental anguish, was compelled to seek medical care and attention, incurred expenses thereof, and was permanently injured and disabled until the time of his death." 
 
 In the years since Frey's death, the Eagles have reformed with members Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit teaming with Vince Gill and Frey's son, Deacon. The group will embark on a North American tour this spring, starting March 12th in Indianapolis. 
 
 ||||| New light is being shed on the medical conditions that contributed to Eagles co-founder Glenn Frey’s death, with a medical expert telling TheWrap that the medications prescribed for Frey’s conditions can lead to “disaster.” 
 
 Frey died Monday at age 67. According to the band’s website, the singer and songwriter “succumbed to complications from rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis and pneumonia.” 
 
 The group’s manager, Irving Azoff, told TheWrap that Frey’s medications played a part in his death 
 
 Also Read: Glenn Frey's Death: Hollywood Remembers Eagles Legend 
 
 “The colitis and pneumonia were side effects from all the meds,” Azoff said. “He died from complications of ulcer and colitis after being treated with drugs for his rheumatoid arthritis which he had for over 15 years.” 
 
 While Azoff declined to state which medications Frey was taking, Dr. Marc I. Leavey, an internal medicine specialist at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore (who did not treat Frey), told TheWrap that medications for rheumatoid arthritis or ulcerative colitis can compromise the immune system’s ability to fight off pneumonia. 
 
 “The medications used for rheumatoid arthritis or ulcerative colitis can interfere with the normal immune response needed to fight an infective agent, such as a pneumonia, again leading to disaster,” Leavey said. 
 
 Even the disease can lead to life-threatening conditions,Leavey cautioned. 
 
 Also Read: Glenn Frey's Medication Contributed to His Death, Manager Says (Exclusive) 
 
 “Rheumatoid arthritis, itself, can produce a condition which can allow ulcerative colitis, pneumonia, or both to become serious enough to threaten a life,” Leavey noted. 
 
 “Whether due to the disease or the medications used to treat them, the combination of rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis and pneumonia is one which would likely require maximal medical effort to fight,” he added. 
 
 Also Read: Eagles Manager Irving Azoff Mourns Glenn Frey: 'He's Gone Way Too Soon' 
 
 LaRita Jacobs, a rheumatoid arthritis advocate and Platinum Ambassador with the Arthritis Foundation, explained that rheumatoid arthritis and its treatment can work hand-in-hand to make sufferers more susceptible to other ailments. Unlike other forms of arthritis, it is an autoimmune disease, meaning that your immune system attacks healthy cells. And “by far” the most common treatments for the illness involve chemotherapy, which tends to weaken the immune system. 
 
 “You’re kind of getting a one-two punch there; you’re getting both the punch from the disease itself, which plays havoc with you and causes other problems,” Jacobs said. “And then on top of that, you’re trying to manage all of that with drugs that can have some very serious side-effects.” 
 
 Compounding matters, Jacobs notes, is that people can take chemotherapy treatment for rheumatoid arthritis for years, longer than they typically do for cancer. 
 
 See video: 11 Memorable Glenn Frey Musical Performances 
 
 Pneumonia, Jacobs said, is “absolutely” a common danger under those conditions, though it’s also not uncommon for patients to die of an infection, “because you can’t fight it … everything is more dangerous to you.” 
 
 Another, overarching danger attached to rheumatoid arthritis, Jacobs said, is a lack of awareness in the general population as the disease is rarely listed as a cause of death. 
 
 “Nobody knows how many people die of complications from things like rheumatoid arthritis,” Jacobs said. “It’s under the radar.” 
 
 Despite having grappled with such a debilitating disease for so many years, Jacobs said Frey could very well have had his functional periods, such as tours, interviews and television shows, without the public being aware. 
 
 “It does wax and wane, and there can be times when you’re faking it pretty well, and nobody knows,” she explained. 
 
 However, she noted, that activity would probably have come at a price. 
 
 “It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if, after he finished whatever he did, he collapsed for three, four days a week,” Jacobs said.
– The world was shocked to lose Glenn Frey at the relatively young age of 67 two years ago, and his widow is now saying his passing never should have happened. Rolling Stone reports Cindy Frey has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against NYC's Mount Sinai Hospital and Dr. Steven Itzkowitz, the gastroenterologist who was treating the former Eagles frontman for his acute ulcerative colitis and other conditions before his death in January 2016. The complaint claims that for two months in late 2015, the hospital and Itzkowitz didn't diagnose and treat Frey properly for his stomach problems, as well as for other issues (his death was brought on by complications from the colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and pneumonia), and didn't get him to the hospital in a timely manner. The lawsuit asserts that all of this "negligence" led to Frey being "rendered sick, lame, and disabled," caused him "pain [and] mental anguish," and eventually led to his death. Per Billboard, Frey's manager gave an interview to the Wrap shortly after Frey's death and indicated Frey's colitis and pneumonia were partly brought on by the meds he'd been taking for more than a decade for his arthritis. Reuters notes the suit was filed just under the wire: New York state has a two-year statute of limitations on wrongful death complaints. The suit seeks unlisted damages for wrongful death, pain and suffering, and the loss of services of a spouse.