Jennifer Burbella sues school after failing her exams twice, and the story goes viral. According to her attorney, Burbella is suing the Misericordia University for $75,000 because they refused to accommodate her during the exams.
Jennifer Burbella sues the school because her teachers did not do enough to help her succeed her nursing program.
In her lawsuit against Misericordia University, located in Dallas, Pennsylvania, Burbella is demanding $75,000 because her professor did not accommodate her while she was battling numerous mental and personal issues.
Burbella, who is suffering from anxiety, depression, and stress, took the nursing course at the Catholic, co-educational liberal arts university last year and failed.
When she returned this year, school officials promised to give her a distraction-free environment to take the test.
This implied that she would be in the same building as her peers and would be able to talk to Professor Christina Tomkins at all time.
The day of the final test, she was put in a class away from her teacher and was given a cell number for her to call Tomkins.
Jennifer Burbella had a nervous breakdown when she found out that the school did not respect their word. According to the lawsuit:
“When Jennifer Burbella tried to call her professor during the examination and she did not answer, on several occasions during the exam, she broke down and cried.”
Harry McGrath, Burbella’s attorney, stated that his client was seeing the school’s psychologist for her anxiety, depression and poor concentration since 2011, and they were aware that she needed special treatment.
McGrath is using Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which “prohibits programs that receive federal funds from discriminating against people with disabilities” as their primary argument. McGrath added:
“Because she was denied her statutory right to accommodations, we’re looking primarily to have her take the test or take the course over with the accommodations she needs. And if she passes the test fine. And if she doesn’t pass the test, fine, then she has to live with that.”
The school is not commenting on the lawsuit, but a source did reveal that the reason Tomkins was not with Burbella is because she was scheduled to proctor the exam in the other building.
One student named Kevin Collins commented on the story by saying that he does not believe that Burbella can handle the stress that comes with being a nurse, caring for the sick, working long hours and being able to make life-altering decisions on her own. He said:
“If you’re going into a medical program that if you need that certain kind of time, my opinion is maybe it’s not for you.”
The lawyer for Jennifer Burbella replied by saying that there are doctors, nurses, firefighters with anxiety problems who manage their disabilities and function in the workplace. He added that Burbella is not interested in the money, she just wants to take the final exam again.
Jennifer Burbella sues the school, and is trying to make a strong case for people with disabilities.
What are your thoughts on the nursing student’s lawsuit against this university?
