The mother of a man who allegedly died after being left unattended for seven hours in an ambulance bay at Yale New Haven Hospital has sued the hospital and Yale University.

William Miller, who was 23, was determined to be a patient “with life-threatening conditions in need of immediate care,” according to the lawsuit, filed by Tina Darnsteadt as administrator of the estate of Miller, her son.

An ambulance was called to Miller’s home in East Haven on May 10, 2021, where he was being treated by town firefighters because he had ingested a white powder that he “suspected ... had been laced with Fentanyl,” according to the lawsuit, which was filed this month in Superior Court in New Haven.

Firefighters had given Miller naloxone, which stopped the fentanyl’s toxic effects, and he was brought to the hospital. “Mr. Miller communicated with his mother Tina Darnsteadt from the ambulance,” the lawsuit states. “He explained what had happened but communicated that he was in the ambulance and feeling ok.”

When he arrived at the hospital, Miller’s vital signs were normal, according to the complaint, which notes the possibility of “toxicity recurrence.” He was designated Level 2, the second-most-urgent designation, it says.

“Mr. Miller, however, received literally no medical attention from Yale New Haven medical personnel after being designated as a Level 2 patient,” the lawsuit alleges. According to the complaint, “a Level 2 patient is at ‘high risk of deterioration’ and should command significant and immediate medical attention from emergency department staff.”

At 7:15 p.m., a nurse noted “triage completed” in Miller’s medical record. “The medical record then falls silent for the next seven hours, between 7:15 p.m. on May 10th through 1:56 a.m. on May 11, 2021,” according to the complaint. “Mr. Miller received no medical attention whatsoever for this seven-hour period.”

A security camera showed Miller getting up from the stretcher to use the lavatory and the vending machine and that he talked to Darnsteadt by phone, according to the suit. Then, he appears to fall asleep.

According to the lawsuit, “Multiple Yale New Haven emergency personnel walk by Mr. Miller while he appears to be asleep. Other patients are taken out of the ambulance and wheeled to treatment rooms, right past Mr. Miller. … At 1:56 a.m., a nurse checks on Mr. Miller for the first time in seven hours. He is without a pulse. He is not breathing. His skin is a blue-gray color. His pupils are fixed and dilated. He has been in full cardiac arrest for an unknown period of time,” the suit alleges.

Miller had lost all brain activity because of lack of oxygen and was declared dead the next day, the suit says.

The lawsuit accuses the defendants of failing to reevaluate and reassess Miller’s condition “in a timely manner” and not treating him with naloxone and that he was left in the hospital Emergency Department for seven hours without care.

Yale New Haven issued a statement saying, ‘Yale New Haven Hospital is aware of this lawsuit and is committed to providing the safest and highest quality of care possible.

“However, even in the best organizations gaps in care may occur. When they do, our goal is to acknowledge them, learn from them, and ensure that we minimize any chance that they ever occur again. We have offered our sincere apologies to the family of the patient and are working towards a resolution,” the statement said.

The complaint describes the increasing problem of fentanyl overdoses and claims Yale New Haven Hospital has not addressed the problem. “Despite its unique status in the region, Yale New Haven has repeatedly failed to provide appropriate care to patients suffering from toxicity caused by the unintentional ingestion of the drug Fentanyl,” the lawsuit claims.

“The number of Fentanyl-related deaths in Connecticut has increased every year from 2016 to 2021. In 2021, the Connecticut Department of Public Health declared that Connecticut residents are ‘more likely to die from an unintentional drug overdose than a motor vehicle accident,’” it states.

An exhibit attached to the complaint by an unnamed emergency medicine physician states, “For a patient who is initially designated as [Emergency Severity Index] level 2, the standard of care applicable in an emergency room is to reassess a patient’s vital signs, pain and/or change in condition every hour.”

The doctor continues, according to the suit, “it is my opinion that there appears to be evidence of medical negligence on the part of the Yale New Haven Hospital Emergency Department.”

Darnsteadt could not be reached for comment. She is being represented by. Sean McElligott of Silver, Golub and Teitell of New Haven.

McElligott issued a statement Monday, saying, “This is a case of medical abandonment. Seven hours of neglect lead to a predictable and tragic result. How does something like this even happen at a place like Yale New Haven Hospital? The family is both devastated and in disbelief.”

Ed Stannard can be reached at estannard@courant.com or 860-993-8190.