An Ohio father has filed a lawsuit against a Columbus hospital after his 27-day-old daughter fell from a crib and later died last year.
In a complaint filed Jan. 23 in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, Tyler Peyton alleges medical negligence, wrongful death, and misconduct against Nationwide Children’s Hospital in connection with the March 31, 2025 death of his daughter, Ellieana Peyton.
Ellieana was born on March 4, 2025, according to the filing. Soon after birth, she was diagnosed with a heart condition and admitted the same day to the hospital’s Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit (CTICU) for monitoring.
The complaint states that during her CTICU stay, providers documented that Ellieana remained on room air, tolerated feeds, had normal neurological exams, and did not require mechanical circulatory support. The filing also says multiple echocardiograms showed normal or near-normal heart function.
Doctors later determined Ellieana was stable enough for a planned discharge on or around March 28, the complaint alleges.
The lawsuit claims that on the evening of March 25, a patient care assistant left a rail down on Ellieana’s crib while the infant was attached to wires connected to a box the assistant had in a pocket. When the assistant moved away from the bedside, the complaint alleges “the tension on the wires pulled Ellieana over the open side of the crib,” causing her to fall roughly three to four feet to the floor.
A brain scan performed later that night allegedly showed a skull fracture. The complaint also cites swelling and visible bruising at the impact site.
“These injuries represented a traumatic brain injury in an infant with pre-existing cardiomyopathy, placing Ellieana at significantly increased risk for circulatory instability, impaired organ perfusion, and hypoxic-ischemic injury,” the complaint states.
Over the following days, Ellieana’s condition worsened, the lawsuit alleges, with hypotension, declining oxygen saturation, and an increasing heart rate. The complaint says she later required CPR and intubation after acute cardiopulmonary collapse.
“Despite full circulatory support on ECMO [extracorporeal membrane oxygenation], Ellieana showed no meaningful neurologic recovery and her condition was determined to be irreversible,” the complaint states.
A coroner’s report from the Franklin County Forensic Science Center said Ellieana died March 31 of “congenital dilated cardiomyopathy complicated by blunt force head injuries: due to a ‘fall from crib.’” The manner of death was ruled an “accident.”
In an obituary, Ellieana was remembered by her family for a bright smile and expressive eyes.
“She had the most beautiful brown eyes that you could stare into for hours,” the tribute read. “She was always so alert, and she wanted to see her surroundings. With one laugh from her mommy or hearing her daddy’s voice, she would look everywhere until she found them.”
The memorial also described Ellieana as vocal when she was hungry and happiest when being held by her parents and family.
In a statement about the lawsuit on Monday, Feb. 2, Nationwide Children’s Hospital said it “cannot comment on pending litigation.” An attorney for Tyler did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
