THE MENNINGER CLINIC
2801 Gessner Drive
Houston, TX 77080
Telephone: 713-275-5000
LAURA AMBER'S STORY:
"August 15, 2005 Laura Amber Kliebenstein, age 22, was admitted to The Menninger Clinic in Houston, Texas, after three suicide attempts. The third attempt was on July 22, 2005, less than one month prior to being admitted as an inpatient at The Menninger Clinic.
Laura was admitted after an intake interview that was performed by psychiatrist Dr. Christopher Drake Martin. Upon admission, Dr. Martin became her psychiatrist through the course of her treatment as well as the person responsible for her care.
Weekly teleconferences with family members indicated that Laura was progressing very positively. She was attending group and individual counseling sessions, completing assignments, providing input and feedback on a regular basis. One assignment she was asked to complete was to do a drawing that depicted where she currently saw herself compared to where she wanted to be in her future. She drew a very graphic picture of herself hanging as a result of her current depression. She also drew a picture of how she saw her future as a chef, being in a loving relationship, and having children. Laura saw world travel as part of her future as well .
In the course of Laura's treatment, Dr. Martin increased her dosage of Paxil from 30mg. to 60 mg. without prescribing any mood stabilizer. According to hospital records, staff members noted a deterioration in Laura's personal hygiene and she began skipping meetings. Laura complained of increased depression and suicide ideation. She was rewarded for her honesty by being granted a REDUCED level of supervision. Dr. Christopher Martin signed off on this as her attending physician/psychiatrist.
September 9, 2005 Laura's parents received calls from Dr. Martin reporting that Laura had another suicide attempt. She hanged herself, using an item of clothing, from a sprinkler head in an unlocked room in The Menninger facility. Laura was found by housekeeping staff. Paramedics were called, resuscitation efforts made, and she was transferred to a Houston hospital where she was placed on life support until family members could arrive to make the necessary decisions. She was taken off life support and died within five minutes at approximately 5:45 p.m. on September 10, 2005.
Legal action was pursued, but eventually dismissed as a result of several factors:
1. The process is nearly as painful as the death of our beloved Laura. Laura and our family became the "villains" that had to defend themselves rather than the doctor whose actions, or lack thereof, were responsible for Laura's care while in The Menninger Clinic.
2. We rapidly learned that a lawsuit can be the wrong venue to raise awareness of horrific cases like this: often you cannot talk about it either before or after trial.
I would like to work much more closely with Break the Silence. After working with the mental health system and the legal system, I realize we need an organization such as this to increase awareness about the dangers and lack of accountability at some of these hospitals."
-Diane Roforth-Smith
Mother of our Angel, Laura Amber Kliebenstein
3. The State of Texas, among other states, has a "cap" of $250,000.00 for non-economic damages in medical malpractice. This is due to Tort Reform and a product of strong insurance company lobby/interest groups. Unless the deceased is a wage earner making $30,000 or more it is very unattractive for most lawyers to pursue these cases. Plaintiff's attorneys know insurance companies have no incentive to settle cases, because their exposure is only the "cap" plus the cost of defense. Consequently, psychiatrists and hospitals have no incentive to "get it right" when treating their suicidal patients. Again, these caps on damages are very unattractive to most Plaintiff's lawyers, so there is no true monetary gain or incentive for them to pursue these cases. Most of them consider it "throwing good money after bad."
