Grandma Claims Hospital Demanded Laboring Mother Fill Out Paperwork While Screaming in Pain: ‘It Was Paperwork Over Life’

A Texas mother is speaking out after she says her pregnant daughter was left waiting for care at a Dallas-area hospital while in active labor because staff insisted paperwork be completed first.

Kashena Manuel told WFAA that late on Nov. 10 she drove her daughter, Kiara, to Dallas Regional Medical Center in Mesquite. Around 11:43 p.m., Kiara began having contractions roughly two minutes apart while still in the car. They arrived just before midnight, and Kashena says she briefly parked in an ambulance spot near the emergency room entrance.

According to Kashena, hospital staff told her to move the car and said a wheelchair would be brought out for Kiara. Kashena says she returned to find no wheelchair waiting. When one was eventually provided, she alleges a nurse did not help Kiara out of the car. Kashena says a nearby security guard — not medical staff — assisted them instead.

After re-parking, Kashena says she came back inside to find Kiara alone in the ER, in pain, while the front desk area continued operating as usual. She told WFAA that by 12:15 a.m. on Nov. 11, she went to the registration window and asked when her daughter would be seen.

Kashena says she was told they needed paperwork completed before Kiara could be taken back, even as Kiara was screaming in pain and holding the forms. When Kashena objected, she claims a nurse replied, “The quicker you sign, the quicker we can get her in the back.”

By that point, Kashena began recording. In the video, she can be heard asking whether staff would let Kiara give birth in the chair if the paperwork wasn’t finished. Kashena says staff continued to insist the forms had to be signed first. She alleges Kiara was weakened, trembling, and still in severe pain as they completed the registration.

Kashena told WFAA that nearly 30 minutes after arriving, Kiara was finally taken to Labor and Delivery. She says that once a nurse removed Kiara’s shorts, the baby was already emerging. Kashena described the nurse as freezing in surprise and holding the baby’s head while urging Kiara not to move.

Six minutes later, at 12:35 a.m., Kiara delivered her son. Kashena said she believes that if her daughter had shifted the wrong way before being moved, the outcome could have been far worse. Both Kiara and the baby are now doing well.

Kashena has filed a formal complaint with the hospital. She told WFAA she felt staff prioritized paperwork over urgent care, saying her daughter’s pain and her grandson’s safety were not treated as a priority.

She also said hospital management did not respond to her concerns, which led her to post the videos publicly. Kashena emphasized that she sees the situation as a systemic problem, not a conflict between individuals.

After the footage circulated, Texas State Representatives Rhetta Andrews Bowers and Linda Garcia reportedly met with the hospital’s CEO and Mesquite Mayor Daniel Alemán Jr. on Nov. 18 to discuss what happened.

Dallas Regional Medical Center has reportedly launched an internal investigation into the incident, according to WFAA.