Father of grad student files wrongful death lawsuit against Penn State Health
A wrongful death lawsuit filed Monday by the father of a Penn State graduate student alleged the university’s health care system was negligent in diagnosing and treating her colon cancer.
Kimet Terolli said in the lawsuit that his daughter was “deprived of fulfilling her goals and creating a new legacy for her family as part of their American dream.” Paola Terolli, 25, of New York, hoped to become a biomechanical engineer.
A Penn State Health spokesperson declined comment Thursday, saying the health system does not comment about ongoing litigation. Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, a gastroenterologist and a certified registered nurse practitioner were also named as defendants.
The lawsuit alleged medical providers, including at a medical group location in Patton Township, failed to adequately test and evaluate Terolli after a November 2022 colonoscopy showed what attorneys described as “abnormalities.” Her father said the professionals did “absolutely nothing” for months to further investigate the severity of his daughter’s complaints.
A June 2023 CT scan at Mount Nittany Medical Center revealed a mass in Terolli’s colon, which the hospital’s oncology team said was “highly suggestive” of Stage 4 colon cancer, according to the lawsuit.
At the most advanced and severe stage, surgery is unlikely to cure those cancers. Her father’s attorneys said she received “extremely painful and discomforting” treatments at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, but died in July 2023.
“Paola Terolli was a healthy, inquisitive, talented and intelligent young woman with extraordinary potential to ... have a successful career as an engineer and whose personal interest, hobbies, and relationships were cut short,” attorneys wrote in the filing.
They are seeking $150,000.