College students are so busy with trying to fit in classes, homework, a social life and possibly jobs that they may not give much thought to their health. However, a busy lifestyle and crowded living conditions may leave them more susceptible to coming down with a serious illness. Families in Pennsylvania with loved ones in college may be interested in what one student endured after an apparent misdiagnosis.
The student, who was 19 at the time of the incident, described coming down with sudden physical complaints that caused her to seek treatment at a medical clinic. Once there, her mother requested that the attending physician assistant run a test for meningitis. Instead, the assistant ran a swab test for influenza. When that test came back negative, the young woman was advised to return home and self-treat with fluids and rest.
However, the student later sought help at a second medical facility. Once there, the medical providers diagnosed her as having meningitis. She was transported to a hospital better equipped to treat this sometimes fatal virus. She survived but with possibly life-long complications as she claims to have suffered permanent harm to some of her vital organs.
She has now filed a civil lawsuit against the medical providers who she blames for her ordeal. Along with the physical damage, she also is now struggling to deal with several hundred thousands of dollars in medical bills. This woman has exercised her rights as a patient to seek full financial accountability from a medical provider believed responsible for a misdiagnosis that could have cost her her life. Indeed, one other student did die as a result of the deadly infection. Pennsylvania patients have the same rights and may choose to consult with an attorney who specializes in such cases if they believe they, too, have suffered harm as a result of medical malpractice.