Jennifer Burbella, a student at Misericordia University in Pennsylvania, has sued her college in federal court for failing to provide help for her disabilities after twice failing a course needed for her nursing degree.
Burbella charged that Misericordia, a small Catholic liberal arts college near Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, violated federal law by not accommodating her disabilities – including anxiety, depression and stress – after she requested assistance,
reported WNEP-TV.
The nursing student alleged in her lawsuit filed May 5 that because the school failed to follow through with provisions it promised in violation of The Americans with Disabilities Act, she failed a required course she needs for her degree twice.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, is asking for compensatory damages in excess of $75,000,
according to the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader.
Burbella's attorney, Harry McGrath, charged that the university was "reckless, outrageous, wanton, willful and malicious" in its behavior to his client, noted the newspaper, claiming that such accommodations had been provided for another student.
The lawsuit charges that Misericordia knew of Burbella's disabilities and request for accommodations since 2013 but failed to provide her with help in the required nursing course.
During the final exam for the course, Burbella was given some accommodations, wrote the lawsuit,
according to the Citizen Voice. The university allowed her more time to complete the test and allowed her to take it in a "distraction-free environment."
Burbella charged that when she asked to take the final in the same building her professor was administering the exam to the other students, she was denied even though another disabled student was given a separate room in the same building.
"She's not looking for the university to ordain that she get this degree," McGrath told WNEP-TV. "She's looking for a fair opportunity, which the statute provides, to take the exam. If she fails it that's her own problem and she has to deal with it."
Burbella is no longer a student at Misericordia and the school has declined to comment on the lawsuit.
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