TRIGGER WARNING: This post contains information about stillbirth and infant loss, which may be triggering to some.
A family in Ohio is suing the hospital that was caring for their newborn daughter when she died. Tyler Peyton has filed a lawsuit against Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, alleging hospital negligence led to the girl’s death. Though the girl’s death was deemed an accident, the family rightfully wants retribution. Having a baby in the NICU is a stressful experience for families. They expect that the staff will be giving their children premium care, given how fragile most NICU babies are. So it’s no surprise that Peyton is suing a member of the NICU staff that was directly involved in his daughter’s death. The money won’t bring his little girl back, but it will serve as a reminder of the importance of accountability.
Peyton filed the lawsuit on January 23, 2026, in the Franklin County Common Pleas court, People reported. He alleges medical negligence and misconduct led to the 2025 wrongful death of his daughter Ellieana Peyton.
Ellieana was born on March 4, 2025. Shortly after her birth, she was diagnosed with congenital dilated cardiomyopathy and taken to the Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit that same day for monitoring.
According to the complaint, “Over the course of her CTICU admission, NCH providers documented that Ellieana remained on room air, tolerated feeds, showed normal neurological examinations, and did not require mechanical circulatory support. Multiple echocardiograms showed Ellieana had normal or very near normal heart function.”
Doctors determined that Ellieana was doing well enough to go home on or before March 28. But on the evening of March 25, everything changed. A patient care assistant at the hospital left the side of her crib down. At the time, Ellieana was attached to wires that were connected to a box in the assistant’s pocket.
When the assistant walked away, “the tension on the wires pulled Ellieana over the open side of the crib.” She fell about 3 or 4 feet from her crib, the complaint says.
A brain scan showed that the newborn’s skull was fractured. A physical examination showed swelling and bruising where her head hit the floor.
“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.”
Ellieana’s condition worsened over the next few days, WBNS reported. She suffered from acute cardiopulmonary collapse and required prolonged CPR and intubation. Additional tests showed brain damage due to a lack of oxygen and blood flow. Her condition was deemed irreversible when she showed no meaningful neurological recovery.
Ellieana Peyton was pronounced dead on March 31, 2025, at 27 days old.
The Franklin County Coroner’s Office ruled Ellieana’s manner of death an accident. Her cause of death was congenital dilated cardiomyopathy complicated by blunt force head injuries due to a fall from a crib.
Ellieana is survived by her parents, Tyler Peyton and Mackenzie Marshall. In her obituary, her parents said she had the “most contagious smile that would light up the room.”
“She had the most beautiful brown eyes that you could stare into for hours, and 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.”
“She didn’t care for having her diaper changed, getting dressed, and when she was hungry, she would let you know! Her favorite place to be was in the loving arms of her mommy, daddy, and family.”
