Parents Sue Hospital After Daughter Dies From Alleged Over-Medication

A New York couple is suing Waterbury Hospital in Connecticut, alleging that medical malpractice led to the death of their 21-year-old daughter, Dale Alice Martin, just 14 hours after she was admitted for a broken ankle.

The lawsuit states that providers at the hospital administered a quantity of pain medication that caused Dale to stop breathing. According to her father, Lindsay Martin, and the lawsuit filed by attorney Christopher Mattei, Dale was not monitored during this time, leading to her suffocation. A nurse reportedly discovered Dale unresponsive at 7 a.m. on April 10, but by then, her heart had stopped beating.

At the time of Dale's death, Waterbury Hospital was owned by Prospect Medical Holdings, a private equity firm that filed for bankruptcy three months prior. Dale's father stated he was unaware that the hospital was allegedly under investigation for inadequate patient care capacities, including staffing shortages and financial constraints.

"Prospect Medical Holdings had for years squeezed out profits from the three hospitals it owned, without considering the consequences of staffing shortages, old equipment and lack of financial puffer," the lawsuit claims.

Christopher Mattei, the family's attorney, indicated that the investigation would explore the extent to which Prospect's management practices contributed to Dale's death. "What we expect to find is that this was a hospital that was largely operating on fumes as a result of Prospect dismantling infrastructure within the hospital, reducing staff, training, and finding every way possible to extract value out of the hospital in a way that jeopardized care," Mattei said.

Prospect is no longer the owner of Waterbury Hospital, which is now under the ownership of UConn Health. The lawsuit highlights a broader concern about hospitals owned by private equity firms, citing studies that suggest higher rates of patient falls, infections, and deaths in such institutions. A report in the Annals of Internal Medicine indicated a 13 percent increase in patient deaths in emergency rooms of private equity-owned healthcare facilities.

U.S. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut released a report over the summer that detailed Prospect Medical's alleged "buy, strip, flip" strategy, which involved selling off assets while reducing staff. Murphy and Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon have proposed legislation to prevent private equity firms from owning hospitals and nursing homes.

Dale Martin was an undergraduate student at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, and was on a sabbatical for farm work at the time of her death. She was also reportedly volunteering as a music teacher for disadvantaged children and was an organ donor. After being declared brain dead, medical staff attempted resuscitation without success, and the ventilator was turned off on April 13, three days after she was found unresponsive.