Khaberni - In a tragic incident, a 28-year-old American girl ended her life after a long struggle with severe psychological stress that peaked due to the actions of her employer, who deprived her of work benefits during her psychological treatment period, before eventually firing her.
According to a lawsuit filed by her parents in the Supreme Court in Manhattan, Annie Surman, a Columbia University graduate and former NASA intern, was working as a technical program manager at MongoDB, a data storage company with a market value of about 35 billion dollars, according to the "New York Post".
Anxiety and Depression
The lawsuit clarified that Surman was suffering from "anxiety and depression resulting from extreme work stress," and her mental state had significantly deteriorated during her time at the company, prompting her to take sick leave.
According to her parents, initially, the company agreed to extend her therapeutic leave before suddenly retracting and demanding her return to work within days, then cutting off her health insurance despite knowing she was undergoing intensive medical treatment, including necessary ketamine therapy sessions to save her life.
The court documents indicate that the young woman had started to show psychological improvement, hoping to return to her job within a period ranging from four to six weeks, but the company's sudden decision severely exacerbated her mental condition.
Her parents stated in court documents that their daughter had been sending them repeated messages expressing her inability to get out of bed or perform the simplest daily tasks, and she suffered from frequent suicidal thoughts.
The company formally terminated her employment, which according to the lawsuit was a "crippling psychological blow" as Surman texted her mother following the decision: "I received an email terminating my job.. I feel very ill".
Two Suicide Attempts
Days later, the young woman attempted suicide using a lethal substance she purchased online, but her mother was able to reach her at the last moment, and she was subsequently hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital, where her parents took care of the full treatment costs.
However, the tragedy did not end there as Surman attempted suicide again, using the same substance, and called emergency herself before passing away on the way to the hospital, according to the lawsuit papers.
The court file stated that the young woman felt desperate after being fired from her job, which she considered the direct cause of her final attempt.
The lawsuit quoted her father saying he was on his way to the airport when he received a call about his daughter's death, adding that he could hear his wife's screams over the phone but could do nothing.
Farewell Letter
The documents also revealed that Surman left a farewell letter saying: "To whom it may concern: I love you, I love you all, I'm sorry.. I love you".
The family accused MongoDB of cruel and inhuman behavior even after their daughter's death, noting that the company later withdrew its offer to assist in recovering her insurance policy, and considered her firing just before a mass layoff of employees to avoid paying her dues.
The family's attorney affirmed that Surman had no psychological disorders before joining the company.
As of now, the company has not issued any official comment on the allegations against it.
