Silver Golub & Teitell Files Lawsuit in Death of Norwalk Community Leader Sharon Stewart

May 4, 2023

Silver Golub & Teitell has filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the estate of Sharon Stewart, who died a year ago after doctors at Norwalk Hospital committed an error in a simple medical procedure and subsequently failed to notice the error.

Ms. Stewart, who was active in the Norwalk community and served on the Common Council from 2013 to 2014, underwent a gastrostomy at Norwalk Hospital on March 24, 2022. The defendants, in performing the procedure, perforated Ms. Stewart’s stomach with the tube.

According to the lawsuit, the defendants failed to recognize clear evidence, both at the time of the procedure and in a follow-up CT scan, that the tube was completely outside the stomach. The positioning of the tube allowed the non-sterile matter from the tube to continuously contaminate Ms. Stewart’s abdomen, causing a septic infection that led to her death on April 5, 2022, the lawsuit alleges.

“This was a basic error in a routine procedure caused by the negligence of the defendants,” said Silver Golub & Teitell partner Ernie Teitell, who represents the estate of Ms. Stewart along with SGT partner Marco A. Allocca. “If the clear evidence of the error had been recognized, Sharon would still be with us,” Mr. Teitell said.

The lawsuit seeks damages for Ms. Stewart’s death, as well as for the pain and suffering she underwent leading up to her death. The defendants include Norwalk Hospital, Nuvance Health Inc., Western Connecticut Health Network Inc. and Premier Imaging Inc.