Shanin Specter: University hires medical director, boosts CPR training

Shanin Specter obtained an agreement from the University of Pittsburgh to improve its emergency medical response after securing a settlement during trial involving student Erica Lynne Pratt, who suffered severe brain damage after experiencing cardiac arrest while in math class. Campus police were summoned to the scene, but instead of administering aid, the first officer who responded decided instead to wait. He also prevented two fellow students trained in CPR from trying to resuscitate the 19-year-old student. Pratt’s injury left her unable to walk and with difficulty speaking. In the aftermath of the litigation, the university pledged to hire a qualified medical director and begin quarterly refresher courses for campus police on CPR and the use of automatic external defibrillators along with twice yearly testing of their skills.