LIVINGSTON — A former state senator's home healthcare company is being sued after the alleged negligent care of an Ascension Parish woman who later died, The Advocate reported Friday.

Troy Brown, who served as a Democrat in Napoleonville, owns and operates the company Home-Care PCA LLC. According to The Advocate, the children of the now-deceased woman sued Brown's company and Tyreetta Sam, one of its employees. The suit alleges that Sam "failed to treat resident Catherine Simmons properly and seek necessary medical intervention before her death last year," the paper reported.

Brown resigned from office in 2017 amid domestic violence convictions. WBRZ also reported in 2022 that Brown was arrested for public intimidation.

The lawsuit filed by Simmons’ children Marilyn Bradley, Keyokita Sam and Roy Samon on April 4 in the 21st Judicial District Court says that Simmons suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a nervous system disease commonly known as ALS.

The suit continued, saying that Simmons was hospitalized from June 28 to early July 2024 due to a “deteriorated state of health.” She was rehospitalized later that summer and returned to Brown's company's home care for about a week until she was hospitalized again in early August, The Advocate reported.

During that hospitalization, she was allegedly diagnosed with sepsis, malnutrition, complications from a urinary tract infection, bed sores, anemia and a gastrointestinal hemorrhage. Simmons was then transferred to Baton Rouge, where she passed away from a stated cause of death of protein-calorie malnutrition, the lawsuit added.

The lawsuit says that Brown's company failed to identify and report signs of deterioration and malnutrition, properly provide care and sterile conditions and seek medical intervention. Simmons’ children seek to recover damages, medical expenses and funeral costs, according to the document, The Advocate reported.