A man is suing the Houston hospital where his late wife was treated, and her night nurse, for medical malpractice, claiming they are responsible for an in-hospital fall leading to his wife’s injury and death.
According to court discovery documents filed Aug. 25, Syed Waqqas Hassan as representative of the estate of Shahina Tasneem, and Syed Mohammad Yassin filed a against Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital and Mary Green in the 129th District Court of Harris County, TX. The complaint says that Shahina Tasneem was at Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital on July 24, 2022 to receive treatment for renal failure that had led to hyperkalemia. This required an overnight stay for Tasneem, whom the suit says had a high fall risk. The complaint says that night, nurse Mary Green administered a dose of Ambien to Tasneem in addition to her other medications, and that Tasneem had a bad reaction, rising from her bed and sleepwalking.
The complaint says the defendants did not meet the standard of care to prevent her from falling, such as securing bed rails; using a lap belt; or placing a patient care sitter at her bedside. As a result, says the complaint, “In the early hours of the morning Mrs. Tasneem suffered a catastrophic fall.
“As a result of this fall Mrs. Tasneem was left lying on the floor with a series of hip fractures and internal bleeding. She was left lying there long enough to crawl to the bedside table and use her phone to call her husband, Syed Mohammed Yasin, to ask him to contact the hospital to have someone come help her. The injuries sustained by Mrs. Tasneem as a result of Defendants’ failures led to several surgeries, lengthy rehabilitation and eventually, five months later, her death. After suffering this fall Mrs. Tasneem never left the hospital again.”
The plaintiffs are suing for up to $3 million in damages for pecuniary loss; loss of companionship and society; mental anguish; loss of household services in the past and the future due to the injuries; and loss of income. The plaintiffs also seek interest, court costs, and all other just relief.
The plaintiffs are being represented by Erik A. Nelson of Franzoni & Nelson, PLLC in The Woodlands, Texas.