Bar Exam Taker Who Collapsed Sues Hofstra
The law graduate who went into cardiac arrest during the bar exam last year at Hofstra University, where proctors declined to halt the test, has now filed a lawsuit against the school, arguing they failed to provide her with immediate life-saving assistance.Mary Jane Jung, 36, filed suit against Hofstra in Nassau County Supreme Court, making claims of negligence and negligent training and supervision, and seeking undisclosed financial damages.“We hope to see accountability through this lawsuit, and bring some closure of a traumatic and painful experience for our client,” said Imran H. Ansari, Jung’s Manhattan-based attorney. “More importantly, Ms. Jung’s ordeal will resonate and effectuate change in the manner the test is administered and how those who host the test takers accommodate their needs, particularly in the event of a medical emergency.”
Jung went into cardiac arrest shortly before the lunch break on July 20, 2025 — the second day of the state bar examination at Hofstra’s David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex — gasping for air, collapsing and turning blue in front of proctors, staff and hundreds of test takers, according to the lawsuit.
“Yet, emergency medical services were not promptly summoned, cardiopulmonary resuscitation [CPR] was not promptly administered, and an automated defibrillator [AED] was not timely retrieved and deployed during the critical early minutes of plaintiff’s cardiac arrest,” the filing states. “Instead, the examination continued. Candidates were instructed to keep working; those who attempted to stand or assist were discouraged or admonished and plaintiff remained unconscious without the urgent intervention her condition demanded.”
Hofstra University, which previously said that its emergency response team “acted swiftly and decisively to save [Jung’s] life,” did not respond to requests for comment.
Hofstra maintained AED devices — used to revive individuals from cardiac arrest — on campus but failed to ensure that its public safety and emergency personnel knew where they were located, could access them immediately or were trained to use them, according to the lawsuit.
“The consequences were devastating,” the lawsuit says. “The delay deprived plaintiff of timely oxygenation and defibrillation, increased the duration and severity of her cardiac arrest and substantially increased the risk of permanent neurological injury.”
The New York State Board of Law Examiners, which did not respond to a request for comment and is not named in the suit, rents space from Hofstra for the exam.
The university has said it was not involved in the decision to keep going with the test, which is required to become a practicing attorney.
A minute-by-minute timeline of the incident found that university security responded within 2½ minutes of Jung slumping over at her desk and 3½ minutes before the collection of test booklets before the 12:30 lunch break, Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick, senior associate judge of the State Court of Appeals and chair of the board, said in a letter last year.
The lawmaker has criticized the response to the incident and has called on the board to detail changes made to their emergency protocols and procedures.
The lawsuit alleges that Jung began showing signs of medical distress around 12:20 p.m., with at least one test-taker repeatedly waving his hand and urgently requesting medical assistance.
The proctors, who do not work for Hofstra, however, declined to halt the exam and admonished those who got out of their seats to help, the suit states.
The exam continued with Jung unconscious on the floor and even as university public safety officials rushed in to administer chest compressions and apply the AED, the complaint states.
Jung was taken by ambulance to Nassau University Medical Center, officials said.
The rest of the test takers returned to complete the exam after an abbreviated lunch break. There was no announcement about the incident or Jung’s condition.
Jung, the suit states, suffered permanent and life-altering cardiac, neurological, cognitive, psychological, professional and economic injuries.
You can read more about this issue here.
If you are planning to sit for the next bar exam in February 2027 and want to get a head start (which is always a good idea), just email us or call us to discuss our Early Start bar review program.