NYC woman driven to suicide by ‘extreme work stress’ at Hell’s Kitchen tech company: Lawsuit
Columbia Graduate and Former NASA Intern Allegedly Driven to Suicide After Tech Giant Cut Benefits, Parents Say
Manhattan, N.Y. – In a civil suit filed in the Manhattan Supreme Court, the parents of 28‑year‑old Annie Surman claim that MongoDB’s sudden decision to terminate her employment and strip her of health coverage while she was on a medically‑prescribed mental‑health leave led to her death by overdose a month later.
Surman, a Columbia University alumna who once interned with NASA on the Mars Rover effort and conducted neuroscience research at Columbia Medical Center, joined MongoDB in 2021 as a Technical Program Manager. During her tenure, her family says she began experiencing severe anxiety and depression linked to extreme work stress. She took a one‑month medical leave in April 2024, after which the company initially agreed to extend her absence through September. On July 31, “the company demanded her return the following week,” according to court documents.
The same day she was told to come back, MongoDB abruptly cancelled her health insurance, even though Surman was undergoing “potentially lifesaving” ketamine therapy that, the family notes, could have allowed her to return to work in four to six weeks. “The timing of the Company’s discriminatory actions was especially cruel, as Annie was embarking on a new course of treatment and beginning to believe that there was hope for her recovery,” her parents wrote in the complaint.
Despite their pleas, the company fired Surman on August 8, 2024. Her mother received an email containing her termination details and, in a text, the young woman sent a note to her mom: “I feel very sick.” Only moments later, her mother rushed to her apartment, where Surman tried to kill herself with a lethal drug ordered online. She was placed in a psychiatric facility with her parents footing the expense, but on September 13 she attempted suicide again with the same drug, citing shame over her dismissal. Surman called 911 after realizing she was harming herself, but she died en route to the hospital.
In a heartfelt note found after her death, Surman wrote:
“For those who need to know: I love you. I love you. I’m sorry. I love you.”
MongoDB later withdrew an offer to facilitate the sale of Surman’s life‑insurance policy to her family, who believe the company fired her just before a mass layoff to avoid severance payments.
Surman’s parents allege that the company’s conduct continued to be “callous and outrageous” even after their daughter’s death. “Even after Annie’s death, MongoDB continued its callous and outrageous behavior toward her family,” the lawsuit states.
An attorney for the Surman family, Christine Dunn, described that she had no prior mental‑health issues when she began at MongoDB. MongoDB has not yet responded to requests for comment.
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