HOUSTON – The Lanier Law Firm in Houston, P.C. has brought a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the family of an X-ray technician who allegedly sustained fatal injuries from a sliding metal door at a local hospital last year, recent Harris County District Court records show.
The 13-page suit, which was filed on Dec. 20 in the Harris County 80th District Court, blames the Memorial Hermann Health System, doing business as Memorial Hermann Hospital, for the death of George V. Vettemthadathil in early February 2017.
Court papers say that the decedent was found unresponsive after “having been pinned” between the door in question and its frame. He later succumbed to his injuries.
An investigation conducted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined that Memorial Hermann “had allowed something to block the overhead door sensor on the door which was supposed to keep the door open when an object was in the path of the doors,” according to the complaint.
Brookfield Industries, Inc., which reportedly manufactured the door, and BEA, the sensors’ manufacturer, join Memorial Hermann as co-defendants in the case.
Consequently, the decedent’s surviving family seeks unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial.
Harris County 80th District Court Case No. 2018-90119