Bacterial meningitis is an infection that can be fatal if not treated properly, as the father of an Ohio University student discovered in 2010. The 18-year-old student became fatally ill on campus, and her father believes that the university’s substandard healthcare led to her loss of life. He was recently awarded a $1 million settlement from Ohio State University for his wrongful death suit.
In 2010, there was reportedly an outbreak of bacterial meningitis at the Ohio University campus. However, the father claimed in the suit that the school staff failed to alert their students of the outbreak. Additionally, when the young woman went to the campus health center, she was allegedly misdiagnosed and sent home in spite of having a temperature of 104 degrees.
After grieving for his daughter, the father decided to file the wrongful death suit against the university, claiming that they were negligent. The father was able to reach a settlement with the university for $1 million. In the settlement, the university did not have to admit wrongdoing or liability for their alleged negligence.
In the case of this Ohio University student, the father elected to negotiate and ultimately accept a settlement for his wrongful death suit. Presumably, he chose to settle because he thought it would be the most favorable choice. However, any Ohio resident who seeks to pursue a wrongful death suit does not have to choose to settle his or her case. If that person believed it to be in his or her best interest, the individual could choose to litigate their suit through the civil court process in an attempt to hold the defendant fully accountable for negligence.
Source: dispatch.com, “Judge approves Ohio University’s $1 million meningitis settlement“, Randy Ludlow, Feb. 6, 2015