MILFORD - A North Haven family is accusing Bridgeport Hospital of a series of medical failures that led to the death of their son, a young dental student, after he was left effectively unattended in what their attorney calls a "fake ICU."

Conor Hylton, 26, died Aug. 15, 2024, after being treated at the Milford campus of Bridgeport Hospital, according to a medical malpractice lawsuit filed in state Superior Court in Bridgeport. Bridgeport Hospital is owned by Yale New Haven Hospital.

The lawsuit alleges Hylton was placed in the hospital's intensive care unit but allegedly without proper monitoring, without a doctor at his bedside and without basic life-saving precautions.

"It was a tragedy that definitely could have been avoided," said Joel Faxon of the Faxon Law Group, who is representing Hylton's estate. "The family is absolutely devastated. He was a good kid. He was a very good student. He was at UConn Dental School and parents are both dentists."

"Yale New Haven Health is aware of this lawsuit and is committed to providing the safest and highest quality of care possible, however, we are unable to comment on pending litigation," said Amanda Raus, media relations coordinator at Bridgeport Hospital.

The day before he died, Hylton walked into the emergency room at the former Milford Hospital complaining of abdominal pain and vomiting. Within hours, his condition worsened and he was diagnosed with pancreatitis, dehydration, metabolic acidosis and alcohol withdrawal, according to a medical analysis report on Hylton that was included in the lawsuit.

By late that night, Hylton was deteriorating and transferred to the hospital's ICU.

What happened next, his attorney alleges in the lawsuit, was a deadly breakdown in care.

The medical analysis stated the hospital campus uses a "tele-ICU," which means there were no ICU intensivists present on site when Hylton was a patient during the overnight hours.

Despite being in intensive care, no on-site physician assessed Hylton for hours, the lawsuit claims. The doctor assigned to oversee him, hospitalist Dr. Frances Demur, allegedly never saw him at all, even after being notified of his decline. Instead, care was partly handled through a "tele-ICU" system, where doctors monitor patients remotely.

Attorney Faxon said neither the family, nor anyone else, would not have consented to Hylton going into a tele-ICU.

"It's a fake ICU. It's not real because no patient would ever consent if they told ... they're not going to have a doctor in here. They're going to be on the tube," Faxon said.

As Hylton's condition worsened overnight, the lawsuit alleges basic medical protocols were ignored.

Required assessments for alcohol withdrawal were not performed, fluid monitoring was not done and no physician evaluated him despite his declining condition. His parents were never notified as his health deteriorated, according to the medical report and the lawsuit.

At 4:30 a.m., Hylton slid down in his bed, became unresponsive, showed seizure-like activity and began vomiting. His heart rate dropped, and a code was called. He was intubated but could not be resuscitated, according to the medical report. He died at 6:09 a.m.

The lawsuit alleges a lack of communication among providers, missing or delayed nursing documentation and confusion during the emergency response. In one instance, a provider called to perform a critical procedure could not immediately locate the ICU, contributing to delays in care. It also claims there were inaccurate entries in the medical record.

The lawsuit argues Hylton's death was preventable, pointing to a critical failure to protect his airway while he was being treated with powerful sedatives that affected his consciousness. As his condition worsened, the complaint says, his airway became unstable and was not properly managed.

This article originally published at North Haven dental student died after Bridgeport Hospital put him in 'fake ICU,' lawsuit says.