A lawsuit alleges that excessive pain medication and inadequate monitoring at Waterbury Hospital caused the death of a 21-year-old college student who sought treatment for a broken ankle.
Dale Alice Martin’s family says she fractured her ankle while doing farm work in Connecticut. What began as treatment for that injury ended with her suffering cardiac arrest and fatal brain damage, according to the family’s complaint as described in published reporting.
The allegations concern care provided in April 2025, when the hospital operated under Prospect Medical Holdings. They have not been established as findings of liability in the material reviewed for this article.
Family alleges medication and monitoring failures
According to the Hartford Courant reporting cited in the family’s account, the lawsuit claims hospital providers administered multiple pain medications that suppressed Martin’s breathing.
The complaint alleges that she stopped breathing within 14 hours of admission and that staff failed to monitor her adequately during the critical period.
It further alleges that the medication left Martin too sedated to call for help. A nurse checked on her at approximately 7 a.m. on April 10 and found that her heart had stopped, according to the quoted complaint.
The family’s account describes a medical emergency followed by her later death. It should not be read as establishing that she died immediately at the end of those 14 hours.
Father says his daughter had no choice of hospital
Martin’s father, Lindsay Martin, said the family did not know about the hospital’s financial difficulties when she arrived for treatment.
“Dale did not have a choice of where to go,” he told the Courant. “She was brought to the nearest hospital.”
He described being shocked by the hospital’s phone call about his daughter and questioning how an ankle injury could lead to such a devastating outcome.
Martin was a Manhattan native who attended school in Pelham, New York, and studied English and history at Trinity University in San Antonio, according to the supplied reporting. She had been living in Bethlehem, Connecticut.
Lawsuit raises questions about former operator
The family’s lawyer, Christopher Mattei, has linked the case to broader concerns about hospital staffing, training and financial resources under Prospect.
Mattei said he expected the litigation to examine whether decisions by the former operator undermined patient care. Those statements describe the family’s legal position, rather than conclusions already reached by a court.
Whether Martin received inappropriate medication, whether monitoring fell below the required standard and whether organizational decisions contributed to her death are separate questions requiring supporting evidence.
A hospital representative declined to discuss the case in the supplied reporting, noting that the events occurred under a previous operator. Former Prospect executives did not respond to requests for comment described in that reporting.
Waterbury Hospital now operates under UConn Health
Waterbury Hospital subsequently changed ownership. An official UConn announcement dated March 4, 2026 confirmed its acquisition and introduction as UConn Health Waterbury Hospital.
That announcement identifies UConn Health, rather than Hartford HealthCare, as the acquiring organization. The distinction matters because the lawsuit concerns treatment provided before that transition.
Medical records and court proceedings remain central
The original complaint, medication administration records and autopsy were not independently reviewed for this article. Claims about the drugs administered and their role in Martin’s death therefore remain attributed to the family’s lawsuit as reported.
The family is seeking accountability for the care Martin received. Determining responsibility will require examination of the medical evidence, the defendants’ responses and the applicable standards of care.