CT POST
Daniel Tepfer
BRIDGEPORT — William “Bill” Halstead was a beloved figure in the town of Newtown where he served both as the longtime chief of the Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue and as the town’s fire marshal.
Now, his widow, Debbie Halstead, filed a lawsuit claiming her husband’s sudden death, after going to a fire call, was the result of medical malpractice on behalf of Danbury Hospital and some of its physicians. Andrea Rynn, spokesperson for Danbury Hospital and Nuvance Health, said they do not comment on pending litigation.
“Bill was an extraordinary member of the Newtown community. His constant generosity will be sadly missed by his family and friends,” said Joel Faxon, the lawyer for Halstead’s widow. “Had Bill’s physicians timely ordered basic cardiac tests that they knew he needed — but delayed in scheduling — there is no question that he would still be serving the citizens of Newtown today and enjoying time with those he loved. Bill’s untimely death was a totally avoidable instance of medical malpractice.”
The 73-year-old Halstead died on July 8, 2022.
“After responding to a call on the evening of Friday, July 8, the chief returned to his home and became ill. Despite the efforts of SHVFR [Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue] personnel, Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Newtown Police Department officers, the Newtown paramedic, and the NECC [Newtown Emergency Communications Center] team, Chief Halstead passed shortly after the incident,” said a statement put out at the time by the fire company.
The lawsuit, filed in Superior Court in Bridgeport in April, states that on July 1, 2022, Halstead went to the emergency department of Danbury Hospital complaining of recurrent midsternal chest pain radiating to both shoulders, head and back.
The lawsuit states that Halstead was discharged from the hospital the same day after being told that his chest pain was unlikely to be cardiac in origin and with instructions to follow up with his primary physician.
On July 8, 2022, Halstead followed up with Dr. Ronald Raymond, a cardiologist affiliated with Danbury Hospital, who scheduled an outpatient stress echocardiography for July 12, the suit states.
That evening Halstead was found in bed by his wife unresponsive and making gurgling noises. “Despite resuscitative efforts Mr. Halstead did not survive,” the suit states.
The lawsuit continues that an autopsy showed the presence of “severe, untreated three vessel coronary artery disease as the cause of Mr. Halstead’s death.”
In addition to Danbury Hospital, the suit cites Dr. Raymond, Cardiac Specialists and the hospital’s parent company, Nuvance Health Inc., for negligence and malpractice in Halstead’s death.
The lawyer for Dr. Raymond and Cardiac Specialists did not return an email for comment.
“Mr. Halstead’s death was a direct and proximate result of the negligence of the defendant’s employees in that they discharged Mr. Halstead when potentially life-threatening cardiovascular conditions had not been ruled out,” the suit states.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for the expenses incurred by Halstead’s estate as well as the cost to his widow who suffered “the loss of comfort, care, love, society and affection of and from her late husband.”
Gov. Ned Lamont ordered flags to be lowered to half-mast in Halstead’s honor following the chief’s death.
In July, the bridge carrying Church Hill Road over eastbound Interstate 84 in Newtown was renamed the “Chief William T. Halstead Memorial Bridge” during a well-attended ceremony.
After joining the fire department at the age of 16 in 1965, Halstead became chief of the Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company in 1978, and he held that position for the remaining 44 years of his life. During that time, he was inducted into the Connecticut State Firefighters Association Hall of Fame and named Connecticut’s Firefighter of the Year in 2019.
“To say he was respected and loved is evidenced by the incredible turnout of friends, family, fellow firefighters and admirers,” state Rep. Mitch Bolinsky, R-Newtown, said during the July 2 ceremony, noting the symbolism in the renaming of the overpass — formerly known as DOT Bridge 505 — in Halstead’s honor.
“You know it as the connection point of Newtown (and) Sandy Hook, carrying Church Hill Road over I-84,” he said. “That connection is symbolic of Bill and his love for our community.”