A 21-year-old Manhattan native died after what her family alleges was medical malpractice after being admitted to a hospital for treatment of a broken ankle.
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The family of Dale Alice Martin alleged in a lawsuit that Waterbury Hospital gave the late victim an excessive combination of painkillers, resulting in her preventable death. Martin sought treatment for a fractured ankle that she suffered doing farm work, the Hartford Courant reported.
"We didn't know till after Dale's death that she was admitted to a bankrupt hospital that was under investigation. Where nurses allegedly were buying food for patients. Where the level of funding was so constrained that the hospital may not have been able to function properly," said the dead woman's father, Westchester County resident Lindsay Martin, to the outlet.
"Dale did not have a choice of where to go," he said of his daughter, an English and history student at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, according to the Pelham Examiner.
"She was brought to the nearest hospital," he added.
College Student Dies After Seeking Treatment For Broken Ankle
According to The Post, the family's attorney, Christopher Mattei, wrote in a lawsuit that an autopsy found that Dale Martin died due to cardiac arrest after being given multiple painkillers.
Court documents reviewed by the publication reportedly state that medical staff at the hospital had "administered so much pain medication" that Dale Martin stopped breathing within 14 hours of her admission. She later died after being declared brain-dead. The lawsuit further alleges that "no one checked on" Dale Martin during that time.
"The same medications that were interfering with Dale's breathing were also sedating her. Dale could not even call for help as she suffocated," the lawsuit read. "At 7 a.m. on April 10, a Waterbury Hospital nurse finally checked on Dale. It was far too late. Her heart had stopped beating."
Lindsay Martin recalled receiving the heartbreaking phone call that his injured daughter had passed away.
"I hung up the phone, and I was in shock," the dad said.
Lawsuit Claims Waterbury Hospital Lacked Funding, Sufficient Staffing
The family told the outlet that they didn't know the hospital was owned by California-based Prospect Medical Holdings, which had filed for bankruptcy in January 2025. UConn Health later acquired Waterbury Hospital, with the ownership transition taking effect March 1, 2026.
Mattei claimed the hospital was "largely operating on fumes as a result of Prospect dismantling infrastructure within the hospital." He also accused the company of reducing staff and cutting training programs.
