A Connecticut medical malpractice lawsuit filed in early April 2025 against Bridgeport Hospital, Yale New Haven Health Services Corp., Yale University, and Northeast Medical Group Inc. alleges that a suprapubic catheter was improperly inserted in a patient, causing perforation of the patient’s bladder and leading to a cascade of medical complications resulting in the patient’s death from sepsis on December 24, 2023.
The Connecticut medical malpractice lawsuit alleges that the 55-year-old man went to the hospital in November 2023 to have his suprapubic catheter replaced. During the catheter replacement procedure, the complaint alleges that the catheter was passed through the man’s bladder, punctured his bladder, and terminated in his abdomen, where a hematoma subsequently formed. The complaint alleges that the hospital failed to detect that the catheter had exited through the bladder at the time of reinsertion. Two days later, the man returned to the hospital after he saw blood in his catheter bag and he was experiencing abdominal pain.
An abdominal CT scan at the hospital showed the misplaced catheter and also showed that an almost six-inch hematoma had formed near the end of the catheter. Despite the CT scan findings indicating that the catheter terminated outside of the bladder, the catheter was not removed and the injuries were not treated. The man’s condition deteriorated over the next month, leading to sepsis and then death.
The family’s Connecticut medical malpractice lawyer stated at the time the Connecticut medical malpractice wrongful death lawsuit was filed, “They perforated his bladder while inserting the catheter, which should have been routine, they didn’t realize what they had done, and when they did, they didn’t take definitive action to correct their error. There were many opportunities to intervene and save his life, and the doctors missed all of them.”
Bridgeport Hospital issued the following statement: “Bridgeport Hospital 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.”
Suprapubic Catheter
Suprapubic catheterization involves placing a drainage tube into the urinary bladder just above the pubic symphysis. This is typically performed for individuals who cannot drain their bladder via the urethra. Suprapubic catheterization offers an alternative means to drain the urinary bladder when other methods are not clinically feasible, undesirable, or impossible.
The complication rate for cystostomy (surgical procedure for insertion of a suprapubic catheter (SPC)) ranges from 1.6% to 2.4%. The first few catheter changes after the initial SPC insertion should be performed using a guidewire as acute complications can occur.
If you or a loved one were harmed as a result of medical malpractice in Connecticut or in another U.S. state, you should promptly find a Connecticut medical malpractice attorney, or a medical malpractice attorney in your state, who may investigate your medical malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
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