The parents of a dental student in Connecticut have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the hospital where he died, claiming the doctor in charge of his care only attended to him virtually, according to a story published on March 17 in the Hartford Courant.
Drs. William Hylton and Betsy Leary Hylton, both dentists, claim the Bridgeport Hospital Milford Campus was negligent in the 2024 death of their 26-year-old son Conor Hylton. Conor was a student at the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine. In the suit, his parents claim no doctor was physically present at the hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU), where Conor was being treated, and instead relied on a clinician overseeing him and other patients remotely, according to the story.
The Hyltons filed the lawsuit against Yale New Haven Health, the owner of Bridgeport Hospital, as well as the nonprofit Northeast Medical Group, which is part of Yale.
Conor Hylton.West Haven Funeral Home.
On August 14, 2024, Conor Hylton went to Bridgeport’s emergency department and was reportedly admitted for pancreatitis, dehydration, metabolic acidosis, and alcohol withdrawal. At some point, the dental student’s condition worsened, leading him to be transferred to the ICU, where he further deteriorated.
By the early morning hours of August 15, Hylton purportedly was restless, agitated, and his mental status had changed. Hylton slid down his bed, and the 26-year-old became unresponsive, showed seizure-like activity, vomited, and his heart rate slowed. Conor was pronounced dead by an offsite telehealth provider, according to the story.
Furthermore, the lawsuit stated the investigation “exposed a culture of inattentiveness and substandard care,” according to the Hartford Courant article.
Additionally, the suit claims that Hylton’s parents weren’t notified when their son was transferred to the ICU or when his condition worsened and his airway became unstable, the story states.
Finally, the family alleges in the suit that their son’s intubation was delayed because the person summoned didn’t know how to find the hospital ICU and someone else had to help him locate it. This caused a 10-minute delay, which was confirmed by the state's department of public health investigation that was released in July 2025, according to the story.
Additionally, the investigation revealed "the hospital failed to ensure nursing assessments were conducted in accordance with the physician’s order, failed to effectively communicate the patient’s needs as documented, resulting in (Hylton) having an incorrect diet," according to the story.
Conor Hylton attended dental school to follow in his parents’ footsteps. In addition to his parents, Conor is survived by two brothers, his fiancé, and three dogs, according to his obituary.
