A federal wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Friedman Schuman Layser PC alleges that Philadelphia-based Aramark Corporation and its subsidiaries are responsible for the death of 37-year-old U.S. citizen Zachary Graff, who was ignored by Aramark employees for more than 15 hours while in medical distress at a hospital in Nanjing, China.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, claims that at least 10 Aramark employees saw Graff in clear medical distress on May 7, 2023. According to the suit, Graff visited a clinic at Gulou Hospital, a facility that contracted with Aramark for cleaning and security services, to fill a prescription for chronic knee pain. After taking the medication around 10:30 a.m., he began staggering and sat in a chair near an escalator on the fourth floor, where he remained unresponsive and breathing abnormally for hours.
Security footage reviewed by the family shows Aramark employees walking past Graff repeatedly, cleaning around him, and attempting to engage him. One security guard told him to "stop sleeping" on three occasions, while another employee picked up his fallen phone charger. The filing alleges that the floor was later locked and the lights turned off with Graff still inside. When his wife arrived around 11 p.m., she had been unable to reach him for hours. Aramark security initially refused her entry, only granting access after she involved the police and they reviewed surveillance video. She found him at about 2:15 a.m. unconscious and barely alive. Only after pleading with Aramark security guards did they call for medical assistance. Medical assistance arrived at 2:28 a.m. but could not resuscitate him; he was pronounced dead at 2:48 a.m.
"This case is about systemic neglect that starts at Aramark's headquarters, right here in Philadelphia," said Brett J. Kaminsky of Friedman Schuman Layser PC, who represents the estate along with Katherine Lekh. "Aramark failed to ensure adequate staffing, training and oversight, and those failures cost a young man his life."
The lawsuit names Aramark Corporation and multiple subsidiaries, alleging negligent hiring, training, supervision, and retention. It seeks compensatory damages and a jury trial. The case is Baehmann v. Aramark Corp. et al., No. 2:25-cv-02758, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. To learn more about this case, continue reading here.
The implications of this announcement are significant, as it highlights potential failures in corporate oversight and employee training for international contracts. Aramark, a global provider of food services, facilities management, and uniforms, may face reputational damage and legal liability if the allegations are proven. The case also raises questions about the responsibility of multinational corporations to ensure adequate care and response protocols for medical emergencies in facilities they service abroad.
