Hedy Chilson died at the Upland hospital Dec. 4 from hemolytic anemia, a condition that occurs when red blood cells are prematurely destroyed. Red blood cells carry oxygen in the blood. Chilson checked into the hospital less than a week earlier with what one of her daughters described as a relatively mild case of pneumonia.

Daughter Jill Jameson said that Chilson previously suffered from problems with her bones and joints, but nothing life-threatening. "She was feistier than feisty,' Jameson said of her mother's health. "She checked in for one thing, and now she's dead.'

Roger Parsons, vice president of planning and development for the hospital, said Friday that it is the hospital's policy to not comment on pending litigation.

In the lawsuit, filed in West Valley Superior Court, Chilson's daughters seek unspecified monetary damages on grounds of negligence and medical malpractice. Chilson's family claims in court documents that Chilson became anemic because doctors failed to monitor the administration of two antibiotic drugs, Rocephin and Levaquin, that can cause the condition. Both drugs are used to treat pneumonia patients.  Chilson's daughters claim that doctors acted recklessly by failing to notice a drop in Chilson's hemoglobin level as the anemia took hold.

Chilson's husband, who owns a consulting business in Rancho Cucamonga for commercial egg producers, is not a party to the lawsuit. San Antonio Community Hospital is a nonprofit, 330-bed medical facility with a 500-member medical staff.