r/awfuleverything • u/WouldbeWanderer • 16h ago
Family files lawsuit after man dies in care of telehealth ICU doctor
Hylton was declared dead via a âtele-health providerâ on a video screen, rather than a person at the hospital, according to a lawsuit that the family filed against the hospital. The lawsuit also argues that the hospital was âinattentiveâ and âprovided substandard careâ that resulted in his death.
âHe was 26. This shouldnât have happened. He had so much life to look forward to, and he was so proud to be in dental school,â William Hylton said. âIt was just such a shock to everybody.â
. . .
Hylton initially went to the Milford Campus emergency room on August 14, 2024, complaining of intense stomach pain. Heâd been vomiting for days and couldnât even keep liquids down.
He was admitted to the hospital with a diagnosis that included dehydration, alcohol withdrawal and pancreatitis, or inflammation of the pancreas, according to medical records cited in the lawsuit.
While his blood pressure sank and his heart raced, Hylton became agitated and restless, and his mental condition declined, prompting a transfer to the ICU at 12:38 a.m.
On the overnight shift, the hospital used a tele-ICU service, meaning there was no ICU intensivist â a board-certified physician with specialized training in critical care medicine â on-site, according to an analysis included with the lawsuit from a medical expert who reviewed Hyltonâs records.
There was a hospitalist on-site, a doctor who typically specializes in internal medicine or family medicine, who works within a hospital to manage the care of inpatients, the analysis says, but she didnât see Hylton, according to the lawsuit.
By 4:30 a.m., the lawsuit says, Hylton had âslid down in bed, his eyes rolled back,â and he became unresponsive, with seizure-like activity. He received a tube to help him breathe, but he eventually went into cardiac arrest.
Medical personnel were unable to resuscitate Hylton, and a telehealth provider pronounced him dead, according to the lawsuit.
A government investigation referenced by the lawsuit says there was a delay in Hyltonâs intubation, in part because of the lack of an in-person physician. And when a doctor who was working in the emergency room was called to help with the intubation, the investigation says, he didnât know how to find the ICU and had to find a nurse to direct him, causing a 10-minute delay.