A federal wrongful-death lawsuit alleges that Philadelphia-based Aramark employees ignored 37-year-old U.S. citizen Zachary Graff for more than 15 hours during a medical emergency at Gulou Hospital in Nanjing, China, resulting in his preventable death. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, claims systemic neglect originating from Aramark's Philadelphia headquarters led to inadequate staffing, training, and oversight. This case, originally filed in Pennsylvania state court as Baehmann v. Aramark Corp. et al. and removed to federal court on May 29, 2025, seeks compensatory damages and a jury trial.
The lawsuit states that at least 10 Aramark employees saw Graff in clear medical distress on May 7, 2023, at the hospital where Aramark provided cleaning and security services under contract. According to the complaint, staff cleaned around him, walked past him, talked to him while unresponsive, and ultimately locked him on the fourth floor overnight without alerting medical personnel. Graff had visited a clinic inside the hospital to fill a prescription for chronic knee pain. After taking the medication around 10:30 a.m., he began staggering through the facility and sat in a chair near an escalator on the fourth floor, where he remained unresponsive and breathing abnormally for hours.
Fifteen hours of security footage reviewed by the family shows Aramark employees walking past Graff repeatedly, with one security guard telling him to stop sleeping on three occasions and another employee picking up his phone charger that had fallen to the floor. The filing alleges the floor was later locked and lights turned off with Graff still inside. When his wife arrived around 11 p.m. after being unable to reach him for hours, Aramark security initially refused her entry. Only after police involvement and surveillance video review was she granted access, finding him unconscious and barely alive at approximately 2:15 a.m.
After pleading with Aramark security guards, medical assistance was called at 2:28 a.m. but resuscitation attempts failed, and Graff was pronounced dead at 2:48 a.m. The lawsuit names Philadelphia-based Aramark Corporation and multiple subsidiaries, alleging negligent hiring, training, supervision, and retention. The estate is represented by attorneys Brett J. Kaminsky and Katherine Lekh of Friedman Schuman Layser PC.
For HR vendors serving the global workforce management sector, this case highlights significant concerns about international service provider accountability and patient safety protocols in contracted healthcare facilities. The allegations point to potential systemic failures in vendor management, particularly regarding training programs for frontline staff in high-risk environments. Companies providing outsourced services in healthcare settings must ensure their personnel are adequately trained to recognize medical emergencies and follow proper escalation protocols.
The lawsuit suggests that Aramark's oversight from its Philadelphia headquarters may have been insufficient for operations at Gulou Hospital in Nanjing. This raises important questions about how multinational corporations maintain consistent safety standards across international borders. HR technology vendors and service providers should note the legal implications of inadequate training and supervision, as the complaint specifically targets these areas as contributing factors to the tragic outcome.
As the case proceeds through the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, it will likely establish important precedents regarding corporate responsibility for contracted services in international healthcare settings. The outcome could influence how HR vendors approach risk management, compliance training, and quality assurance for clients operating globally. This incident serves as a sobering reminder that lapses in basic human observation and response protocols can have fatal consequences, emphasizing the need for robust training and clear accountability structures in all service contracts.
