A grieving mother has filed a lawsuit against a nursing and rehabilitation facility, alleging severe negligence that led to her daughter's untimely death. Patricia Camareno, representing the estate of Raquel Roca, filed the complaint on July 29, 2024, in Harris County District Court against Woodwind Lakes Nursing & Rehabilitation, LLC d/b/a Paradigm at Woodwind Lakes.
The lawsuit details the tragic circumstances surrounding Raquel Roca's death. On August 2, 2022, Roca suffered a left thalamic intracerebral hemorrhage with intraventricular hemorrhage and was admitted to Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center. Following several medical procedures including tracheostomy and PEG tube placement, she was transferred to Paradigm at Woodwind Lakes for rehabilitation on August 29, 2022. At the time of her admission to Paradigm, Roca was nonresponsive.
Camareno's petition alleges that upon Roca’s arrival at Paradigm, no comprehensive nursing assessment was conducted. Nurse Taisha Biggs documented minimal information about Roca’s condition and failed to properly assess her respiratory status or tracheostomy care needs. Respiratory therapist Samina Malik noted some aspects of Roca’s respiratory status but did not perform adequate suctioning or monitoring throughout her stay.
On August 31, 2022, nurse practitioner Blessing Akigbogun evaluated Roca but did not document crucial details such as the exact time of evaluation or specifics about her oxygen support. Later that day, Nurse Chi-Hui Wu-Wimsett recorded vital signs but failed to monitor or document essential aspects of Roca’s respiratory status adequately. By evening, Roca's condition deteriorated significantly; she developed labored breathing and critically low oxygen saturation levels. Despite these alarming signs, no emergency interventions were performed until EMS arrived after a delayed call.
Roca was transported to Methodist Willowbrook Hospital where she was pronounced dead due to suspected aspiration linked to dysphagia and hemorrhagic stroke complications. The lawsuit claims that Defendants' failure to provide necessary tracheostomy care and timely medical intervention directly resulted in Roca's death.
Camareno accuses Woodwind Lakes Nursing & Rehabilitation of multiple counts of negligence including failure to monitor respiratory distress signs adequately, improper documentation and record-keeping practices, lack of appropriate emergency response measures like CPR before EMS arrival, and overall insufficient staffing and training for handling patients with complex medical needs like those of Ms. Roca.
The plaintiff seeks compensatory damages for physical pain and mental anguish suffered by Ms. Roca before her death as well as funeral expenses incurred by the family. Additionally, Camareno requests exemplary damages citing gross negligence on part of the defendants.
Represented by attorneys Jeffrey Rasansky and Kolter McKenzie from Rasansky Law Firm based in Dallas Texas; this case will be presided over by Judge Talitha McCarty under Case ID: 2024-47571 in Harris County District Court No.80.