Houston Methodist worker sues Texas Medical Center after parking garage attack
A Houston Methodist worker says a Texas Medical Center garage attack left her with lasting trauma and scars. Her lawsuit says Garage 1 had no cameras, no guard and no meaningful security.
Baleigh Burmaster, a Houston Methodist worker stabbed in a Texas Medical Center parking garage, sued the complex on July 2, saying the attack exposed dangerous security gaps in Garage 1. The lawsuit seeks $1 million for past and future medical expenses, pain and suffering, mental anguish, lost wages and attorney’s fees.
The petition says Burmaster was parking ahead of her shift on the morning of May 11 when Perry Green attacked her inside her vehicle on the fifth floor of Garage 1 near Fannin Street and Dryden Road. She was stabbed seven times in the chest, suffered facial lacerations and other wounds, and was zip-tied during the assault. She escaped by opening the passenger door with her toes and running for help, while several employees witnessed the attack and gave first aid before first responders arrived.
The lawsuit alleges there were no surveillance cameras in the garage and no guard, attendant or operator present. The garage was dimly lit and freely and publicly accessible. Texas Medical Center knew, or should have known, about violent crime concerns in and around the campus and still failed to provide adequate protection for workers, patients and visitors who use the garages every day.
Security changes came only after the stabbing, including increased patrols and additional signage. The complaint says at least four violent crimes were reported in the two weeks around the attack. Houston City Council Member Carolyn Evans-Shabazz called for stronger coordination among Texas Medical Center Police, Houston Police and surrounding medical institutions.
Texas Medical Center Police is a TPCA-accredited agency with a 24/7/365 communications center and campuswide crime-prevention and emergency-response duties. Green was arrested on May 14 by Houston Police Department and METRO Police, and a prior 2011 conviction for aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon is on record. Investigators used Metro light-rail video and Green’s Instagram account to help identify him, and he remains in the Harris County Jail.
Burmaster said the attack left her feeling like “a shell” of who she was before and said her recovery has included lasting physical, mental and emotional trauma. She also said the attack disrupted her fall wedding plans. She was released from the hospital and was doing well after the attack, though still recovering.
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