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Inset: Conor Hylton (Westhaven Funeral Home). Background: Bridgeport Hospital Milford Campus in Connecticut where Conor Hylton died after being placed in a “fake ICU” and cared for by a remote doctor, his family says in a lawsuit (Google Maps).
A tragic incident involving a 26-year-old dental student in Connecticut has highlighted concerns over the use of remote healthcare services. Conor Hylton passed away in an intensive care unit managed by a telehealth physician who declared him deceased via a video link, amidst claims of poor communication regarding his medical needs, according to a lawsuit.
Hylton’s parents have initiated legal action against Yale New Haven Health, the entity responsible for the Bridgeport Hospital Milford Campus where their son tragically died in 2024, as well as Northeast Medical Group, a Yale New Haven Health affiliate. The lawsuit accuses them of negligence, which the family believes directly contributed to Hylton’s untimely death.
The legal documents, accessed by Law&Crime, contend that the ICU staff and management breached hospital protocols. Specifically, it notes that no in-person physician evaluated Mr. Hylton from his ICU admission until after he began showing seizure-like symptoms.
According to the lawsuit, Hylton was admitted to the emergency room on August 14, 2024, with conditions such as pancreatitis, dehydration, metabolic acidosis, and symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, which led to his subsequent hospitalization.
The legal filing details how Hylton’s health worsened, prompting his transfer to the ICU. His condition continued to decline throughout the night and early morning of August 15, 2024, marked by changes in mental status, restlessness, and agitation despite being administered Precedex, as reported in the complaint.
While in the ICU, the hospital allegedly utilized the service of a “tele-ICU,” with the complaint noting that there were no “ICU intensivists” present at the time.
“Instead, the hospitalist, in this case … never saw the patient,” the complaint alleges. “It also appears from the sparse ICU records that the ICU RN was only contacting the tele-ICU service for sedation orders as Mr. Hylton’s condition deteriorated in the ICU, and despite orders, there are no CIWA assessments, no intake/output monitoring, and no MD assessments for pain and/or change in mental status despite the RN’s non-contemporaneous note indicating mental status change in a patient diagnosed with alcohol withdrawal and a history of alcohol withdrawal seizures for which he had previously been given Keppra.”
Hylton, who was admitted around 11 a.m., became unresponsive early the next morning around 4:30 a.m., the complaint says.
“Mr. Hylton slid down in bed, his eyes rolled back and he … exhibited seizure-like activity, vomited, became bradycardic and code was called,” the complaint alleges. “He was intubated, but he could not be resuscitated, and he was pronounced dead.”
According to Hylton’s parents, “the pronouncement was done by a ‘tele-health’ provider on a video screen.” The family wasn’t even notified about what was going on or Hylton’s deteriorating health status, their complaint adds.
“[The defendants] allowed for extremely poor communication among the providers responsible for Conor’s life which is especially dangerous to patient care when the hospital is relying on off-site tele-ICU providers to care for its patients,” the complaint concludes.
His parents’ attorney, Joel Faxon, told CT Insider that Hylton was treated at what he considers to be a “fake ICU,” per the local media outlet.
“It’s not real because no patient would ever consent if they told … they’re not going to have a doctor in here,” Faxon said. “They’re going to be on the tube.”
Faxon calls what happened to Hylton “a tragedy that definitely could have been avoided,” according to CT Insider. “The family is absolutely devastated,” Faxon said. “He was a good kid. He was a very good student. He was at UConn Dental School and parents are both dentists.”
The family’s lawsuit comes after a July 2025 investigation from the Connecticut Department of Public Health found that the “hospital failed to ensure quality medical care was provided” to Hylton, according to the complaint.
The agency determined that hospital staff “failed to ensure nursing assessments were conducted in accordance with the physician’s order” and “failed to effectively communicate the patient’s needs as documented,” per the complaint.
A Bridgeport Hospital spokesperson told the local Hartford Courant newspaper, “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.”
Asked whether Yale New Haven uses the services of tele-health professionals in its hospitals and ICUs, the spokesperson reportedly said the model “enhances critically ill patients by pairing advanced virtual monitoring with expert bedside teams.”
“A dedicated virtual team collaborates closely with on‑site nurses, physicians and ICU intensivists to provide continuous monitoring, timely decisions and coordinated, high‑quality care throughout the ICU stay,” the spokesperson told the Courant.