DPH hearing deems allegations admitted against RN Samuel Hatti after respondent fails to appear

A hearing officer for the Connecticut Department of Public Health on Oct. 21, 2025, granted the department’s motion to deem allegations admitted against registered nurse Samuel Hatti after the respondent failed to appear at a public hearing convened to determine whether he violated a previously issued consent order.

The hearing will proceed to a memorandum of decision prepared by the hearing officer and submitted to the Board of Examiners for Nursing, which will issue the board’s final ruling. Attorney Joelle Newton, representing the department, told the hearing the department is seeking revocation of Hatti’s license because, she said, his conduct “represents a threat to the public health and safety.”

The hearing officer, Aden Baum, opened the hearing at 10:01 a.m. and took testimony on whether proper notice was given. Brett Karpuska, administrative assistant and board liaison to the Board of Examiners for Nursing, testified that the department scheduled the hearing and sent a notice by email, certified mail and regular mail to the address of record tied to Hatti’s license, and that tracking showed delivery on Sept. 25, 2025. “He was sent a notice of hearing, by email. It was also sent by certified mail and regular mail to the address of record, with his license,” Karpuska said.

After confirming the respondent had acknowledged receipt of the department’s exhibits on Oct. 7, the hearing officer found that sufficient notice had been given and that the respondent had failed to appear. The department moved to deem the allegations admitted under the regulations; the hearing officer granted the motion, citing section 19a-9-20 of the regulations of Connecticut state agencies.

Newton summarized the department’s allegations and supporting evidence. She said the current petition (No. 2025-1110) arises from a prior consent order entered in petition No. 2024-244 on April 2, 2025, which placed Hatti’s license on probation and required therapy and abstention from drugs and alcohol. Newton said Hatti tested positive for marijuana metabolites on June 19, 2025, and failed to submit to multiple urine screens when selected on June 26, June 30, July 2, July 7, July 15 and July 21, 2025. She said the respondent also failed to cause required therapy reports to be submitted to the department. Based on those facts, Newton told the hearing the department was asking that Hatti’s license be revoked.

The hearing officer also declined to consider a respondent filing that sought removal of charges tied to the prior matter (petition No. 2024-244), saying the current proceeding concerns whether Hatti complied with the terms of the existing consent order and that the department’s burden of proof would be assessed after evidence is presented and tested on the record.

The department’s exhibits — including an investigative report (entered under seal for containing protected medical information), an affidavit of Levita Sukram (dated Aug. 1, 2025, sealed), a monitoring file (sealed) and the prior consent order (dated April 2, 2025) — were entered into the record. Respondent prefiled documents were entered for identification only; the department objected to several respondent exhibits as relating to a closed prior petition and not relevant to the instant case, and the hearing officer left them as identification-only.

A monitor who had been prepared to testify was not present. With the respondent absent and no additional live testimony offered, the hearing officer closed the evidentiary record and adjourned the hearing.

The hearing officer will prepare a proposed memorandum of decision for the Board of Examiners for Nursing, which will issue the final decision on the allegations against Samuel Hatti.

Votes/Outcomes at the hearing: The hearing officer granted the department’s motion to deem the allegations admitted; no final disciplinary decision was issued at the hearing.