Woman Suffers a Cardiac Arrest While Taking the Bar Exam — and Proctors Allegedly Didn't Stop to Provide Help
A woman suffered a cardiac arrest while taking the bar exam at a Long Island college, and administrators of the test allegedly didn't stop to help her
"The exam never stopped. Everyone just … kept going. Or at least tried to," one eyewitness recalled
The test determines competency to practice lawA test taker suffered a cardiac arrest while taking the bar exam — and proctors administering the evaluation allegedly did not stop in order to provide an assist.
The incident occurred on July 30, as the New York State Board of Law Examiners (NYSBOLE) was administering the New York State Bar Examination at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., a spokesperson for the college told PEOPLE.
According to the representative, the individual — whom local outlet Newsday identified as a woman — "collapsed shortly before the scheduled lunch break and fell from their chair."
"Hofstra Public Safety officers immediately provided life-saving emergency care, including CPR and defibrillation, until paramedics arrived and transported the individual to a local hospital," the spokesperson for the Long Island-based college continued.
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The woman was not a Hofstra University graduate, according to the representative for the school.
"Our thoughts are with them and their loved ones, and we wish them a full and speedy recovery. Further details about Bar Exam protocols should be directed to the NYSBOLE," the spokesperson added.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Joseph Landau, the Dean of Fordham Law School, confirmed the woman is a graduate of their New York City-based school.
"We were saddened to learn of what happened to one of our graduates during the New York Bar Exam this week and have been in touch with the family to monitor the graduate's health," Landau said. "Our thoughts are with the graduate and the family, and out of respect for their privacy, we do not have any further comment."
In a Reddit post, one fellow test taker claimed that the woman was never attended to during the medical ordeal.
"She collapsed onto the floor and was making gurgling sounds, clearly in serious distress. For what felt like a long time, no one reacted until a few people began calling for help and making a scene," the Redditor wrote.
"The exam never stopped. Everyone just … kept going. Or at least tried to," the unnamed user continued.
They added: "I understand that emergencies are unpredictable and that there might not be much flexibility built into bar exam procedures — but this felt wrong."
Newsday reported that test takers returned to complete the exam after a lunch break, and no announcement was made about the ordeal. The outlet added that the woman was taken by ambulance to Nassau University Medical Center for care.
Another person who was taking the test, which determines competency to practice law, told Newsday, "That's a real person who could be dying right in front of us, and we're still being expected to continue to finish our questions for this exam."
"From a purely human standpoint, that's another human being in distress, and that's not something that you could just flip to the back of your mind immediately — at least for me," the individual continued.
The Nassau County Police Department (NCPD) and Nassau University Medical Center did not respond to PEOPLE's request for comment, nor did the NYSBOLE or the National Conference of Bar Examiners, which provides services to Bar applicants.
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