The family of a 19-year-old Penn State student who died during the first week of his freshman year at the University Park campus has filed a lawsuit against Mount Nittany Health over the medical treatment he received in the days before his death.
The federal lawsuit filed Tuesday by Sean Tomany, of Glastonbury, Connecticut, claims that negligence by a physician, physician’s assistant, the State College-based health system, Mount Nittany Medical Center and Centre Emergency Medical Associates led to the wrongful death of his son Patrick Tomany.
According to the 19-page lawsuit, Patrick Tomany went to the Mount Nittany Medical Center Emergency Department on the afternoon of Aug. 26, 2021 for evaluation of right buttock pain that had worsened in the two days since it started. Tomany had a history of blood clots and protein C deficiency, and was concerned he could have a deep vein thrombosis, a serious blood clot that usually occurs in the leg.
Physician’s assistant Brooke Koch “noted Patrick complained of right buttock pain, but her physical examination describes her examination of the left buttock and lower extremity,” attorneys Shanin Specter and Braden Lepisto wrote. Koch ordered an ultrasound of the right lower extremity, but did not order a test that would have revealed deep vein thrombosis in the right common iliac vein, according to the lawsuit.
Koch incorrectly diagnosed Tomany with “right leg pain” and discharged him without medical intervention, the attorneys wrote. Dr. Roderick Cross signed Koch’s emergency department note and diagnosis with no changes.
On the morning of Aug. 30, 2021, Tomany began to develop pain in his right thigh and asked his resident assistant to call an ambulance because he believed he had a blood clot. Tomany experienced two seizures before EMS personnel arrived and another after, according to the lawsuit. As EMTs moved him to an ambulance, he began to struggle breathing and then became unresponsive. At the hospital, the code team performed CPR for 44 minutes before Tomany was pronounced dead.
An autopsy found Tomany died from a saddle pulmonary embolism that originated from a thrombus of the right common iliac vein, according to the lawsuit.
“Defendants’ negligence, jointly and severally, was the direct and proximate cause of Patrick’s injuries and death,” the attorneys wrote.
Sean Tomany’s lawsuit was filed individually and on behalf of his son’s estate. It alleges negligence and wrongful death by each of the defendants. He is seeking a jury trial and compensatory damages to be determined.
A spokesperson said Mount Nittany Health does not comment on pending litigation.
