She arrived at the hospital with a broken ankle - and did not leave it alive because of a shocking reason
A 21-year-old student arrived at a hospital in Connecticut with a broken ankle and died hours later. Her family alleges medical negligence: a lethal combination of painkillers suppressed her breathing, and no one on the hospital staff checked on her for 14 hours. The hospital was in bankruptcy.
Dale Ellis Martin, a 21-year-old student, arrived in April 2025 at Waterbury Hospital in Connecticut with a broken ankle. In a lawsuit filed by her family, it is alleged that during the 14 hours after her admission, Martin received several painkillers, in an amount that caused her breathing to stop and cardiac arrest. No one from the staff checked on her during that time. Only at 7:00 in the morning did a nurse approach her, but it was too late. An autopsy after death determined that Martin died of cardiac arrest. Her father said that they brought her to the nearest hospital, and only after her death did the family learn that the hospital was in bankruptcy and under investigation. The hospital was owned by Prospect Medical Holdings, which filed for bankruptcy in January 2025. The family's lawyer claims that the institution's difficult financial situation may be part of the reason. Hartford HealthCare purchased the hospital later.