A CT man's ear infection spread to his brain. He died

Key Points:

• Serhii Zaiats, a Connecticut man, died on Sept. 20, 2025, from a brain abscess caused by an untreated middle ear infection that allegedly resulted from medical negligence at Yale New Haven Health Urgent Care-Norwalk and Norwalk Hospital.
• The lawsuit claims medical staff failed to diagnose the spread of the ear infection to his brain, misdiagnosed his condition as sinusitis and otitis externa, and did not promptly order necessary diagnostic tests or hospital admission.
• Zaiats initially sought treatment for ear pain on Aug. 30, 2025, but despite worsening symptoms including severe headaches, he was not referred for urgent imaging or specialist consultation until he was critically ill on Sept. 18.
• After a CT scan revealed a life-threatening brain abscess with significant brain swelling and midline shift, Zaiats was transferred to Yale New Haven Hospital but suffered catastrophic brain injury and was declared brain dead before his death two days later.
• The family’s attorney alleges the defendants’ negligence directly caused Zaiats’s death, while Yale New Haven Health and Nuvance declined to comment on the ongoing litigation, expressing condolences to the family.