Trial About to Begin in Death of College Student
The medical malpractice trial in the wrongful death of Anne Ryan is set to begin this week. Ryan died in September 2007 of bacterial meningitis.
The lawsuit was filed by Ryan’s brother Jed and names the hospital of the University of Pennsylvania as the defendant. Ryan was a student at the university at the time of her death.
According to court documents, Ryan went to the hospital showing all the symptoms of meningitis. She underwent numerous testing, including a lumbar puncture, and was discharged with a prescription for antibiotics.
Ryan returned two days later still severely ill and this time underwent a CT scan that revealed brain swelling. Shockingly, even after the results of the CT were revealed, Ryan was given another spinal tap, which the lawsuit calls “unnecessary” and “risky”. The procedure caused Ryan’s brain to herniate and she died the following day.
The University, in their defense, is claiming that Ryan “unquestionably did not have meningitis when she was tested in the Emergency Department”.
Both sides are expected to produce expert witnesses to support each of their claims.