When 80-year-old Barbara Kimbrough entered a Livonia nursing and rehabilitation center after spinal surgery, her family believed she was in a safe place designed to protect Detroit’s most vulnerable elders. Instead, she left with irreversible damage: stage 4 pressure ulcers, a painful bone infection, and health complications that her loved ones say were entirely preventable.
When 42-year-old Ebony Williams sought relief from chronic pelvic pain and excessive uterine bleeding, she expected answers, or at least compassion. Instead, she says her doctors dismissed her concerns, ignored her pleas, and ultimately removed her uterus in a hysterectomy that she believes could have been avoided had her voice been taken seriously.
And when 53-year-old Levetta Hackworth complained of headaches, blurred vision, and optic nerve swelling, her doctors had nearly a year of opportunities to intervene. Instead, she endured delay after delay until she was left completely blind – permanently.
Three Detroit women. Three different medical settings. Three devastating outcomes. But the throughline is clear: the healthcare system that should have protected them instead left them scarred, silenced, and searching for accountability.
Their stories highlight what Black women across the United States already know to be true: that their health concerns are too often ignored, their pain disbelieved, and their care delayed until the consequences become life-altering or fatal.
“Facilities like (the one in Livonia) are entrusted with the care of our most vulnerable population. What happened to Ms. Kimbrough was preventable and tragic,” said Attorney Dionne Webster-Cox, who is representing all three women in their pursuit of justice. “This isn’t just about negligence. It’s about dignity, and the systemic failure to protect our elders.”
Kimbrough’s case is as disturbing as it is familiar. Between April 20 and July 27, 2023, she resided in the Livonia rehab center after undergoing spinal cord surgery. As a high-risk patient, her care required constant attention: repositioning, wound care, and swift medical intervention. But according to her family, those needs were neglected. Her condition deteriorated rapidly, and by the time her wounds were recognized as stage 4 pressure ulcers, the damage was irreversible.
“This case shines a light on the dangers seniors face in rehabilitation centers and long-term care facilities,” said Gwen Thomas, principal at Gwen Thomas PR. “We are calling on Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services, elder advocacy organizations, and the media to investigate patterns of neglect that too often go unreported.”
If the issue were confined to elder care facilities, it would still be a crisis. But the patterns run deeper, reaching into hospitals, specialty clinics, and gynecological offices across Michigan and beyond.
In August of 2023, Williams underwent a hysterectomy at a Detroit hospital under the care of her gynecologist and surgeon. Williams had spent months reporting extreme pelvic pain and bleeding. She says her doctors brushed off her concerns, chalking her symptoms up to uterine fibroids—common benign growths that affect up to 80% of Black women by age 50.
But after the surgery, it was discovered that she had also been suffering from endometriosis, a painful and sometimes debilitating condition that had gone undiagnosed. The surgery that changed her life forever may never have been necessary if her doctors had taken her pain more seriously.
“I kept telling them how much pain I was in,” Williams said. “I trusted the doctors to help me, but it felt like my voice never really mattered. If they had just listened, maybe I wouldn’t have lost something I can never get back.”
Her attorney agrees. “Ms. Williams placed her trust in a system that failed her—not only medically, but fundamentally as a woman and as a Black patient,” said Webster-Cox. “This was not just a case of medical oversight; it was a denial of dignity, and we are demanding accountability. Far too often, Black women’s pain is dismissed until it’s too late. We intend to hold all responsible parties accountable under the full extent of the law.”
The silencing of Black women’s pain is not a new phenomenon. Studies from institutions like Boston Medical Center show that implicit bias regularly shapes medical decisions, leaving Black women’s symptoms minimized, diagnoses delayed, and care options limited. For gynecological issues in particular, those biases have life-changing consequences.
The consequences go far beyond individual households. Black women in America are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They are less likely to receive adequate treatment for chronic pain and more likely to face life-altering health outcomes when doctors dismiss their concerns.
The roots of these disparities are not simply medical. They are social, historical, and economic. From the exploitation of enslaved women in the name of medical advancement to the forced sterilizations of Black women in the 20th century, distrust of the healthcare system is both earned and generational. Today, those legacies persist in the disproportionate maternal mortality rates, in higher rates of chronic illness, and in cases like Kimbrough’s, Williams’s, and Hackworth’s.
“This case is a red flag for every newsroom, every medical board, and every woman who’s been told her pain is normal,” said Thomas. “We can’t allow these stories to remain buried in medical files. The silencing of Black women must end.”
But perhaps the most devastating of these three cases is that of Levetta Hackworth. In early 2024, Hackworth began experiencing severe headaches, blurred vision, and optic nerve swelling – symptoms consistent with Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension, a rare but treatable condition that can cause permanent blindness if ignored.
Over the next nine months, she cycled through leading medical institutions around the state. Specialists documented urgent symptoms such as optic disc edema and retinal hemorrhaging. Yet her treatment was repeatedly delayed. Recommendations for a lumbar puncture were postponed. Medication failed to halt the progression of her condition. Insurance delays obstructed her path to surgery. And all the while, her vision slipped further away.
By the time Hackworth finally underwent optic nerve sheath fenestration surgery on November 18, 2024, the damage was permanent. One month later, she was admitted to the hospital completely blind.
“I went from blurry mornings to not being able to see at all,” Hackworth said. “I trusted that someone would do something to stop it. But the help came too late. And now, my world is dark, permanently.”
Her attorney says her case represents one of the most avoidable medical tragedies she has seen. “There were multiple, clear opportunities to intervene,” Webster-Cox said. “This isn’t just about missed appointments. It’s about systemic failures to coordinate care, communicate urgency, and act on life-altering symptoms. The result is tragic and entirely preventable.”
Hackworth’s blindness has not only robbed her of independence but has also stripped away her livelihood and her daily joys. She can no longer work, drive, or live alone. The burden of her care now falls on her family, who are also grappling with the emotional toll of knowing that her suffering could have been avoided.
These three cases stand as harrowing examples of what Black women in Detroit and across the nation experience in healthcare settings every day. Whether in elder care, reproductive health, or specialized treatment for complex neurological conditions, the stories echo one another: pain ignored, conditions dismissed, and consequences borne disproportionately by Black women and their families.
The consequences go far beyond individual households. Black women in America are less likely to receive adequate treatment for chronic pain and more likely to face life-altering health outcomes when doctors dismiss their concerns.
Locally, the stories of Kimbrough, Williams, and Hackworth are sparking new calls for accountability and systemic reform. Advocates argue that stronger oversight, cultural competency training, and patient-centered care must become the standard if Detroit is to protect its Black women and families.
What unites the voices of these women and their advocates is a shared demand that these stories not be allowed to fade into the background. Each case serves as a reminder that the fight for health equity is far from over, and that justice for Detroit’s Black women requires real action and not just sympathy.
“We are calling on Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services, elder advocacy organizations, and the media to investigate patterns of neglect that too often go unreported,” Thomas said. “We can’t keep allowing Black women to be silenced. Their lives depend on it.”
For Kimbrough, Williams, and Hackworth, the damage has already been done. But their families and attorneys are determined to turn their pain into a warning – and a rallying cry –for a healthcare system that has for too long failed to treat Black women’s health with the urgency, dignity, and seriousness it deserves.
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