A Columbia graduate and former NASA intern was allegedly driven to suicide when her $35 billion tech company cut off her benefits while she was on mental health leave — then fired her, her parents claimed in a lawsuit.
Annie Surman struggled with “anxiety and depression resulting from extreme work stress” at data storage company MongoDB, where she worked as a Technical Program Manager until she was canned in August 2024, according to the Manhattan Supreme Court papers.
A month later, Surman, 28, killed herself by overdosing on a drug she ordered online, her parents said in the litigation.
The California native and Columbia University grad was a science wiz who helped NASA with the Mars Rover project as an intern and did neuroscience research at Columbia Medical Center before joining MongoDB in 2021.
Her mental and emotional state deteriorated while at the company, the family claimed in court documents.
“Annie frequently sent messages to her parents about her inability to leave her bed for days and her desire to die,” her parents said in the legal filing.
Things got so bad the one time high achiever “was often unable to complete basic daily functions like getting out of bed and brushing her teeth or attending social gatherings,” her family said in the lawsuit.
She took a one month medical leave in April 2024.
The company initially agreed to extend her absence through September 2024, but abruptly changed course, demanding on July 31 that she come back the following week, her family said.
The same day, MongoDB abruptly canceled her health coverage, despite knowing that Annie was undergoing “potentially lifesaving” Ketamine treatment for her depression that “would allow her to return to work in four to six weeks,” according to court documents.
“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 Greg Surman and Karen Connolly, said in court papers.
“We made it clear that they did not need to pay her or hold her job open for her,” Mr. Surman wrote in a Dec. 20 LinkedIn post. “We just asked them not to fire her while she was in such a vulnerable state.”
Ignoring the family’s pleas, Mongo allegedly fired Surman on Aug. 8th, 2024.
“They sent me an email with all the departure info and I feel very sick,” Annie texted her mom, who was staying in New Jersey to be closer to her daughter.
Connolly rushed to Annie’s apartment moments before the distraught young woman attempted suicide using a lethal drug ordered online, the family said in the lawsuit, which did not identify the narcotic.
Surman then entered a psychiatric hospital, with her parents paying out of pocket for the treatment.
But on Sept. 13, 2024, she attempted suicide again with the same lethal drug “citing the shame she felt at being fired by MongoDB,” according to the lawsuit.
Surman apparently regretted the decision and called 911 herself — but died on the way to the hospital.
“Mr. Surman was alone in the back of a taxi to the airport when he received the call that Annie had died,” her parents said in court papers.
“He could hear his wife’s screams in the background while he was helpless to comfort her.”
“For those who need to know: I love you. I love you. I’m sorry. I love you,” Surman wrote in her suicide note, according to court documents.
Mongo later backtracked on an offer to retrieve Annie’s life insurance policy for the family, who believe the company fired Annie right before a mass layoff to avoid paying her severance, according to the suit.
“Even after Annie’s death, MongoDB continued its callous and outrageous behavior toward her family,” the lawsuit says.
Surman had no mental or emotional issues prior to working for MongoDB, a lawyer for the family said.
“She was not suffering from mental health challenges when she started at Mongo,” Christine Dunn, the Surmans’ lawyer, told The Post.
The company did not respond to a message seeking comment.
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