A grieving mother has filed a lawsuit alleging medical negligence led to her daughter's untimely death. On August 13, 2024, Yolanda Henderson filed a complaint in the Harris County District Court against Dr. Sheilendra Mehta and Texas Laparoscopic Consultants, LLP.
According to the complaint, Precious Henderson, a 29-year-old traveling nurse with no significant health issues, sought weight loss surgery from Texas Laparoscopic Consultants, LLP. On August 17, 2022, she underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy performed by Dr. Sheilendra Mehta. Approximately two weeks post-surgery, Precious experienced an elevated heart rate and cramping in her left leg. When she contacted Dr. Mehta about these symptoms, he allegedly dismissed them as dehydration.
The situation worsened on September 7, 2022, when Precious visited her primary care physician due to persistent leg cramps. Her doctor referred her to the emergency room because of a high Wells score indicating a potential pulmonary embolism (PE). Tragically, she collapsed shortly after and was admitted to HCA Kingwood Hospital where she was diagnosed with a massive PE. Despite medical intervention, her condition deteriorated rapidly and she passed away four days later.
Yolanda Henderson contends that Dr. Mehta and the staff at Texas Laparoscopic Consultants failed in their duty of care towards Precious by not recognizing the signs of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and PE. The lawsuit alleges multiple instances of negligence including dismissing leg cramps as dehydration without proper examination or testing for DVT/PE, not advising discontinuation of NuvaRing—a known risk factor for thromboembolism—prior to surgery, and failing to conduct appropriate diagnostic tests such as D-Dimer or venous duplex scans which could have identified the presence of DVT.
The plaintiff is seeking damages exceeding $1 million for physical pain, mental anguish, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, medical expenses incurred before death, and wrongful death damages under the Texas Wrongful Death Statute (Tex. Civ. Prac & Rem Code Section 71.001 et seq.). Additionally, they request pre-judgment interest and court costs.
Representing Yolanda Henderson is attorney Jackson Davis from Streck & Davis Law Firm based in Fort Worth, Texas. The case is assigned Case ID CAUSE NO: pending before an unnamed judge in Harris County District Court.