Lawsuit Filed Against St Matthews

[smuInsideOut]

A former student recently filed a lawsuit against St Matthews. I have attached the court documents. The attached zip file contains a pdf of the plaintiff's complaint (the pdf file is too large to upload just as a pdf). The attached pdf is St Matthews rebuttal.

Plaintiff's complaint:
7564

St Matthews rebuttal:
7565

[jonasp]

The only fault SMU has in this case is that they admitted him in the first place. I'm sure this has happened in other carrib schools. Anyone who attends smu or knows anything about the school knows the charges made in the report are laughable. This guy was not cut out for medical school. I hope this thread doesnt turn into a huge flame war over this ridiculous lawsuit.

[mclovin]

A former student recently filed a lawsuit against St Matthews. I have attached the court documents. The attached zip file contains a pdf of the plaintiff's complaint (the pdf file is too large to upload just as a pdf). The attached pdf is St Matthews rebuttal.

Plaintiff's complaint:
7564

St Matthews rebuttal:
7565


:roll: I cant believe I waisted all that time reading this ********************

[rynobuddy]

Ok ok, I will keep my comments to a minimum so as not to be in violation of terms on the service. Do not want to feel the wrath of UFTim or any of the other mods. Anyhow this failure, was in my class starting January 2005. I also transferred to the Maine campus the same semester and completed both the same Pharm and Pathology II class. Basically if you put in time you could pass the classes. Were they challenging classes, hell yes!! He was not the only one to fail the classes, but you do not see the other 7-10 other students who failed pitching a man's best friend. They sucked it up, took it next semester and passed the course. Simple as that.

Obviosuly from his prior history of poor showing in undergraduate and at Ross he is just not cut out for this profession. Cut your loses kidd and don't let the door hit you!

It seems like he wanted the grades handed to him on a plater. It was probably best for SMU to dimiss him because no way in hell would he ever pass the boards.


I am no lawyer, but this suit just does not seem to hold too much water. What a joke

[Sree Cheruku]

Infractions will be handed out for TOS violations, and that includes insulting other users, flaming, etc. So edit your posts.

[AmericanIMG]

wow. sub 3.0 in undergrad. bad history at ross. failure of pharm/path 2 twice (and both classes dropped once).
the cali/texas thing is a side note.

best of luck to the guy, but he dug his own grave

[azulpanther]

it would be interesting if the court awards the plantiff.

[Future MD | DM erutuF]

It would be even more interesting if SMU counter-sued and actually won. More money for us!

[mclovin]

oh what the, i get an immediate infraction for using the word "retard" but joker and douche get a free ride, just more proof of the ridiculous bias on this site, eh what the hell, its entertaining to watch people get excited at the chance to seem important..

[senz_asian]

wow. sub 3.0 in undergrad. bad history at ross. failure of pharm/path 2 twice (and both classes dropped once).
the cali/texas thing is a side note.

best of luck to the guy, but he dug his own grave


With all due respect.. if you fail more than once ..than switch school and fail again... I believe you should reconsider other alternative career.

just my 2 cents..

[kryptik]

i plead the fifth

[facemask]

can you blame the kid for suing? this kid fails several times at smu, fails a few semesters at ross, has a mediocre undergrad gpa from some chop-shop university that no one has ever heard of, and is probably overwhelmed in an ocean of debt. he probably has a lot of resentment, anger, sadness, and a low self-esteem from all this experience. since we live in a culture of victimization where we have to blame someone or something for the mess we created ourselves, i'm not surprised that this guy filed a lawsuit. this is a litigious country so i guess it doesn't hurt to try suing and recoup his losses, especially all those loans he has to pay back. it also wouldn't surprise me if this case does go to trial because all these lawyers and judges sleep in the same bed and need to make a living (my dad's a lawyer and even he agrees with this). it's too bad he's making smu the scapegoat. why doesn't he sue ross as well? their academic policy is that if you fail a course, you have to repeat the entire semester! now this sounds really ridiculous and unfair. for all you prospective students out there, smu is a fine school. don't let this incident deter you from applying here. everyone has the potential to do well here if you apply yourself. right now i believe it's not smu's fault that this kid is in the mess that he's in. we'll just wait and see if the evidence proves/disproves his argument. in any event, this school gave me a chance, gave everyone a chance, to make our medical dreams come true. i believe smu even gave this kid a chance after dropping out from ross. i took that chance, worked my butt off big-time, and ended up doing well in my classes, step 1, and clinicals. not to show off folks, but i was even offered a couple of pre-matches (even though i haven't taken step 2 yet), not because i'm super smart, but because i sucked it up, worked long and hard, and made the sacrifices to be where i am today. overall, smu has good professors, good classes, and is located on a beautiful well-developed island. is it a perfect school, absolutely not. every med school out there has its problems, but this school has the tools to make you succeed. it's up to you to apply those tools, direct your life and energy in the proper channel, and work hard to become a physician. if i flamed anyone here, sorry. i will edit my reply if the moderator asks me to, but i wanted to give my sincere 2 cents and defend smu for helping us in becoming good future physicians. :)

[DrCannoli]

Man I got some undergrad grades I didn't like anyone know a good attorney.

[facemask]

regarding dr canoli's reply: :lolup:

i only received a 'pass' grade in beginning dance and introduction to home economics 101 at my community college, not 'distinguished honors' that i deserve! where's jacoby & meyers when i need them?

[jackets5]

wow this is a joke. Does anyone on this board know the guy who is suing. If you cant come close to passing path or pharm on your 3rd try your not going to be a good doctor plain and simple. Im one who personally thinks SMU gives students to many chances, fail 30 credits and your out is way to many. let you fail a class 3 times (i consider a withdrawal a failure outside of extenuating circumstances, since no one withdraws because they are doing well) fail once okay anyone can screw up but fail again you should be gone plain and simple no questions asked.

I really hate people like this dude, they take no personal responsibility, blame everyone else. Its not like you need to be einstein to get through med school, it takes alot of very hard work but you do not need genius like intelligence to make it through just a ton of perserverance and a great work ethic.

[Future MD | DM erutuF]

I agree with his claim that he should be refunded the housing deposit, but that's just a matter of sympathy. Even still, $500 versus $200,000? Come on man, just give it up. I can only imagine the debt he racked up at Ross.

[kryptik]

I can only imagine the debt he racked up at Ross.
and attorney fees :D

[the_punisher]

i dont know how anyone even spent time to read the entire 2 documents... i just stopped reading the complaint after point #7 where he wants 200K when he didnt even attend SMU for the entire first 2 years... and then i switched to see what SMU had to say... all i saw was, "SMU Lack the information" in just about every line... so i just saved my self some time and clicked that " X " button on the top right of my screen...

[silverfish]

-- Valuemd in a legal document

[senz_asian]

AGREED! SMU gives many many chances to the students to make it.... I personally believe,.. a dude failing twice at path and pharm then complain that the school didn't spoon feed him ... COME ON MAN! ...

wow this is a joke. Does anyone on this board know the guy who is suing. If you cant come close to passing path or pharm on your 3rd try your not going to be a good doctor plain and simple. Im one who personally thinks SMU gives students to many chances, fail 30 credits and your out is way to many. let you fail a class 3 times (i consider a withdrawal a failure outside of extenuating circumstances, since no one withdraws because they are doing well) fail once okay anyone can screw up but fail again you should be gone plain and simple no questions asked.

I really hate people like this dude, they take no personal responsibility, blame everyone else. Its not like you need to be einstein to get through med school, it takes alot of very hard work but you do not need genius like intelligence to make it through just a ton of perserverance and a great work ethic.

[BTP Julian]

A. i cant believe im reading this at 230 in the morning
B. i cant believe that this guy is quoting valuemd.com as a viable source
C. You have got to be kidding me

[camryllionareMD]

All I can say is.... WOW. At some point you gotta look in the mirror. Well, then again, a lady sued McDonald's for scalding coffee and won. So with a good lawyer, anything's possible.

[rokshana]

so let me get this straight....this guy is suing smu because he says he was an unqualified candidiate and smu should have known he was an unsuitable for medicine and instead of giving him a (3rd) chance to be come a doctor, thay should have said no??

and that even though smu wasn't cali approved when the guy cam in to smu, that the administration should have TOLD him that they aren't....cali approved? huh??


to the claimant (since evidently he reads vmd enough to quote it as a relaible source)....i gotta bridge for sale...real cheap!

[senz_asian]

so let me get this straight....this guy is suing smu because he says he was an unqualified candidiate and smu should have known he was an unsuitable for medicine and instead of giving him a (3rd) chance to be come a doctor, thay should have said no??

and that even though smu wasn't cali approved when the guy cam in to smu, that the administration should have TOLD him that they aren't....cali approved? huh??


to the claimant (since evidently he reads vmd enough to quote it as a relaible source)....i gotta bridge for sale...real cheap!


The website, ... everystudent comes to SMU from California knows that SMU was not approved. ..There is no reason for not knowing since it is stated in the accreditation page on SMU, (you can check it for yourself for reference)...Even students from Canada and England know that SMU was not approved for the love of Jesus... :D

[MDTOB]

The website, ... everystudent comes to SMU from California knows that SMU was not approved. ..There is no reason for not knowing since it is stated in the accreditation page on SMU, (you can check it for yourself for reference)...Even students from Canada and England know that SMU was not approved for the love of Jesus... :D

Where on the SMU website does it state that St. Matthew's is NOT APPROVED in the State of California? And why would a for profit organization state anything negative (or what could even be possibly construed as being negative) on their website?

Not to get personal, but just having a hard time finding it.

[sinchu77]

I like that "Valuemd.com" was mentioned at lease twice in the original document.

[onesolo]

wow this is a joke. Does anyone on this board know the guy who is suing. If you cant come close to passing path or pharm on your 3rd try your not going to be a good doctor plain and simple. Im one who personally thinks SMU gives students to many chances, fail 30 credits and your out is way to many. let you fail a class 3 times (i consider a withdrawal a failure outside of extenuating circumstances, since no one withdraws because they are doing well) fail once okay anyone can screw up but fail again you should be gone plain and simple no questions asked.

I really hate people like this dude, they take no personal responsibility, blame everyone else. Its not like you need to be einstein to get through med school, it takes alot of very hard work but you do not need genius like intelligence to make it through just a ton of perserverance and a great work ethic.

WOW!! Your going to be a doctor and you say you hate people like this? Keep in mind your going to deal with people with issues every single day. What about the addict that comes to you just because they are med seeking or the psych patient that checks in just because they want a vacation from the real world..... Keep in mind what profession your going in and judge accordingly. Not everyone in medical school should be there and he sounds like he may be one of those people. I'll refrain from speaking my opinion because it's the legal system that has to deal with it. What I find interesting though is that it's SMU that he's suing not Ross.... He must feel there is a reason for that.

[senz_asian]

ohh it's ok MDTOB, I dont take anything personal on this website.... However, McDonald does not advertise that their coffee is boiling hot either, .. but we know it's hot when we first take a sip.


I entered SMU after searching other schools, and they all stated clearly that they are Cali approved. Now, when I hit SMU website, I asked myself, where is Cali ? ... and with just a little bit of research, I found out it was not yet approved. .. However, if certain students absolutely need the school to spoon feed them everything.. that's another story, dont you think?




Where on the SMU website does it state that St. Matthew's is NOT APPROVED in the State of California? And why would a for profit organization state anything negative (or what could even be possibly construed as being negative) on their website?

Not to get personal, but just having a hard time finding it.

[jackets5]

yeah i totally, hate people like this. the people that its always someone else fault they never take responsibility for what they do. If i saw a patient like this they would get one chance to get help from me, if they screw it up they would need to find a new doctor since i dont have the time or the energy to help people who dont refuse to help themselves. I spend my time helping those who want the help. i truly believe that addiction is largely the persons fault, no one forced them to take drugs or use alcohol. People quit everyday the people who fail have a low level of willpower and mental toughness

WOW!! Your going to be a doctor and you say you hate people like this? Keep in mind your going to deal with people with issues every single day. What about the addict that comes to you just because they are med seeking or the psych patient that checks in just because they want a vacation from the real world..... Keep in mind what profession your going in and judge accordingly. Not everyone in medical school should be there and he sounds like he may be one of those people. I'll refrain from speaking my opinion because it's the legal system that has to deal with it. What I find interesting though is that it's SMU that he's suing not Ross.... He must feel there is a reason for that.

[MDTOB]

There is no reason for not knowing since it is stated in the accreditation page on SMU, (you can check it for yourself for reference)...Even students from Canada and England know that SMU was not approved for the love of Jesus... :-D

senz_asian,
I was just trying to make a clarification since you state in your post that you can find Cali Disapproval on the website.

Sorry to side track from the original post, just trying to clear things up! :)

[onesolo]

yeah i totally, hate people like this. the people that its always someone else fault they never take responsibility for what they do. If i saw a patient like this they would get one chance to get help from me, if they screw it up they would need to find a new doctor since i dont have the time or the energy to help people who dont refuse to help themselves. I spend my time helping those who want the help. i truly believe that addiction is largely the persons fault, no one forced them to take drugs or use alcohol. People quit everyday the people who fail have a low level of willpower and mental toughness

I'm going to assume that you haven't taken Pharm yet because your going to have a hard time listening to and understanding Pain management. Then again, maybe hearing the mechanism of various drugs will help you with some of your thoughts..... Then again, maybe not.

[rokshana]

WOW!! Your going to be a doctor and you say you hate people like this? Keep in mind your going to deal with people with issues every single day. What about the addict that comes to you just because they are med seeking or the psych patient that checks in just because they want a vacation from the real world..... Keep in mind what profession your going in and judge accordingly. Not everyone in medical school should be there and he sounds like he may be one of those people. I'll refrain from speaking my opinion because it's the legal system that has to deal with it. What I find interesting though is that it's SMU that he's suing not Ross.... He must feel there is a reason for that.

what? because you are going to be a doctor you can't be human and have an opinion? be realistic forheaven sakes! we are NOT god, we are NOT perfect and we CAN have opinions

i personally agree with jackets that people have stopped taking personal responsiblity and are looking for a scapegoat for all the woes in their life.

THIS person does no one any credit...not Ross, not smu, not the respective students at these schools or for that matter ANY caribbean student....we (most of us anyway) for how much we piss and moan, are grateful to the respective schools we attend that they gave us a 2nd chance...a chance that no US school gave to us.

This silly person takes no responsiblity...he FAILED 2 major classes not once, not twice, but effectively THREE times!!!! THREE TIMES!!! Surely just based on the fact he attended class THREE times he should just been able to get a "C" the last time. He even calls himself a "SUBSTANDARD" student in his suit and somehow its SMU's fault he's not a doctor???? unbelievable.

as for not suing Ross....i'm sure he figured a behemoth of a school like Ross would crush him like a bug...

i hope the judge makes him pay smu's legal fees for bringing such a ridiculous lawsuit...

[WSUCougar]

we are NOT god, we are NOT perfect


says who? this is one of the reasons I wanted to become an MD... ;)

[senz_asian]

One thing for sure... you and I definitely dont need to be spoon fed by the school ;)


senz_asian,
I was just trying to make a clarification since you state in your post that you can find Cali Disapproval on the website.

Sorry to side track from the original post, just trying to clear things up! :)

[facemask]

i like to echo rokshana's reply in that this lawsuit is downright outrageous and ridiculous. shame on that lawyer who seriously took this case. i hope smu countersues for the emotional and mental pain/suffering and for wasting their time. besides smu's legal fees, i want this kid to pay for what he is maliciously doing to this school and to all the other students who are finding success in their medical education through diligence and perseverance. for his sake he should consider dropping this lawsuit or else he will have to look into the face of karma.

[UFTim]

I think this is silly and I am extremely curious why SMUInisdeAndOut would post that.

This is the country we live in now. If you can't do something right, blame somebody else.

I guess everyone should be careful what they post now if people are suing based on things found on ValueMD. :roll:

[onesolo]

what? because you are going to be a doctor you can't be human and have an opinion? be realistic forheaven sakes! we are NOT god, we are NOT perfect and we CAN have opinions

i personally agree with jackets that people have stopped taking personal responsiblity and are looking for a scapegoat for all the woes in their life.

THIS person does no one any credit...not Ross, not smu, not the respective students at these schools or for that matter ANY caribbean student....we (most of us anyway) for how much we piss and moan, are grateful to the respective schools we attend that they gave us a 2nd chance...a chance that no US school gave to us.

This silly person takes no responsiblity...he FAILED 2 major classes not once, not twice, but effectively THREE times!!!! THREE TIMES!!! Surely just based on the fact he attended class THREE times he should just been able to get a "C" the last time. He even calls himself a "SUBSTANDARD" student in his suit and somehow its SMU's fault he's not a doctor???? unbelievable.

as for not suing Ross....i'm sure he figured a behemoth of a school like Ross would crush him like a bug...

i hope the judge makes him pay smu's legal fees for bringing such a ridiculous lawsuit...

I'm not saying nor did I mention anything about not being able to have an opinion.... What I did state however, is that there are going to come numerous time throughout your clinicals when your put in a position where you disagree with what the person has said, done, or believes and you can't "HATE" a person because your "Opinion" is in disagreement with theirs. It's simple as that.... Hence the reason we take a course on Ethics. I don't agree with the lawsuit at all and know of several incidents where the school would have been at fault with an upset student however this isn't one of them. At the same time... Like you said, this is one persons opinion and there is no need to "HATE" someone for their opinion. If your going to hate people because they are med seeking then stay out of the ER. It's really that simple FOR HEAVEN SAKE!!

[camryllionareMD]

yeah i totally, hate people like this. the people that its always someone else fault they never take responsibility for what they do. If i saw a patient like this they would get one chance to get help from me, if they screw it up they would need to find a new doctor since i dont have the time or the energy to help people who dont refuse to help themselves. I spend my time helping those who want the help. i truly believe that addiction is largely the persons fault, no one forced them to take drugs or use alcohol. People quit everyday the people who fail have a low level of willpower and mental toughness
I sort of agree. I wouldn't personally give patients a short leash if they initially refuse help because the longer I live, the more mistakes I make myself. And I meet people who go through terrible things like the death of a child or spouse that leads them down a path of self-destruction by drugs. It's not just that clear-cut lack of mental toughness, more of a gray area.

I do agree with your premise, though that if you don't take personal responsibility for the REAL reason you failed, you'll never change. You'll never realize that you have the power. This student is missing out on a chance to acknowledge their fault and do something about it, which is the most empowering thing about turning a life around.

[the_punisher]

lol... imagine what will happen when the judge comes here to read all this since the person who filed the case mentioned valuemd in the original doc.

[Bubkas1]

I think that it is reasonable to conclude that Plaintiff's attorney is reading all of the posts. Should anyone be commenting on this quagmire? Airfare from any of the islands to Boston is expensive. Think about it! Best wishes.

[AmericanIMG]

yeah i totally, hate people like this. the people that its always someone else fault they never take responsibility for what they do. If i saw a patient like this they would get one chance to get help from me, if they screw it up they would need to find a new doctor since i dont have the time or the energy to help people who dont refuse to help themselves. I spend my time helping those who want the help. i truly believe that addiction is largely the persons fault, no one forced them to take drugs or use alcohol. People quit everyday the people who fail have a low level of willpower and mental toughness

addiction and foolishness are completely different things.
take a chronic pain mgt elective. it will open your eyes.

[rynobuddy]

Well I wish the judge and plaintiff's attorney were reading this and they could gratiously call me so that I can tell them how I feel about the lawsuit and this foolish client.

[stephew]

folks, one reminder to stay on topic and post within tos.