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| Rockefeller Lookout, Englewood Cliffs N.J. Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times |
In the Spring of 2011, graduate student Kenneth Costello was prepared to take his final exam and graduate from CSUS with a Masters degree, and certified as a teacher of English as a Second Language.
Going into the teacher certification exam (the "TESOL"), Costello had a 3.95 grade average. According to a Federal lawsuit filed in 2013 by his sister, Claudette Scoras, Costello did not receive a diploma or a credential in June 2011, and he did not march at graduation.
In the Summer of 2012, the New York Times reported that he died in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey ("Third Fatal Fall From Palisades") :
"Kenneth Costello, 45, was found dead 225 feet below the Rockefeller Lookout, after someone called the police to say that a cane and walker had been abandoned at the railing. Mr. Costello’s car was found in the handicapped parking spot, and park commission officials said his death was presumed to be a suicide."The lawsuit attributes his death to the actions of Sacramento State.
Costello was already enrolled at CSUS in March of 2009 when he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, a progressive and degenerative neurological disorder. According to the complaint, Costello continued to persevere as a student (e.g., his 3.95 GPA), despite obvious impairments in mobility, dexterity and balance. Costello used a cane or a wheel chair to navigate and had frequent loss of muscle control. He also developed difficulties with speech and vision and could type with only one finger. He was registered with the University as a disabled student.
MS is a central nervous system disorder involving cerebral inflammation and demyelination of nerve fibers, and it can result in a range of neuropsychiatric symptoms.* Disturbances in mood and psychological well-being are more prevalent in those diagnosed with MS, as is suicide and even psychosis.** In the literature, MS and depression have been described as "a lethal combination."
Costello was a patient of the CSUS Health Center and "actively received" psychiatric care during the course of his illness. MS can affect psychological functioning directly, and also as a result of the psychosocial stress associated with coping. The medications used to treat MS have additional side effects. The lawsuit claims that Costello would suffer from fatigue and cognitive impairment (including perceptual distortions and memory disruption) for days after the administration of each treatment.
A month before the test, according to the lawsuit, Costello requested an alternative accommodation, the submission of a comprehensive project, in lieu of the two part, five day exam. The complaint says that "this request was ignored and denied."
Costello was granted extra time to complete the 3.5 hour classroom test portion of the examination. The lawsuit says that he was not given clear instructions.
Taking extra time for the sit-down prevented him from attending a Q&A, handout-and-instruction session for the 5 day take-home portion of the test. The preparation session (attended by the other students) was held in a different building and at a distance from the classroom. In addition to being given verbal instructions for the take-home, students at that time were also provided with access to the TESOL resource library.
The plaintiff alleges that "Mr. Costello was denied his right to equal and comparable test preparation, administration ... and award of a Master's degree and commencement."
The suit claims that he was further disadvantaged by the stress and anxiety occasioned by the alleged mishandling of efforts to accommodate his disability.
According to the complaint, "All attempts to appeal the exam administration, accommodation and evaluation of his MA-TESOL exam in a timely manner ... were thwarted, ignored, obstructed, denied and rejected by defendants."
The plaintiff's claim is that the "standardized grade appeal and ADA accommodation grievance protocols" were not adhered to and that instead, Costello was "subjected to improper, humiliating and ad hoc appeal and grievance meetings with faculty."
Delays and irregularities in the appeal process are said to have prevented him retaking the April exam - with proper accommodations - prior to his scheduled graduation.
Following these events, it appears that Mr. Costello was actively distressed, as would be expected. Stress is a factor that can exacerbate the neuropsychiatric symptoms commonly associated with MS.
At that time, Costello was under the care of the campus medical service and was receiving mental health treatment. He apparently sent a "notice of intent" to the University, informing them that he planned to sue. Upon doing so, according to the complaint, he was terminated as a patient without proper referral or discharge treatment planning.
If there was a treatment plan, it may not have been viable. The follow-up treatment consisted of a call to the police, informing them that Costello might be gravely disabled and in need of civil commitment (i.e., a Welfare & Institutions Code 5150 action).
Having the police arrive at his home with the presumption that he was in need of involuntary confinement was apparently experienced as an indignity by Mr. Costello. The lawsuit claims that it was an act of "retaliation" by the University and that the intervention was not conducted in accordance with the professional and legal standards for such action.
The complaint's statement of general allegations concludes: "As a result of the actions of defendant, Mr. Costello took his own life on June 24, 2012."
The Federal pretrial scheduling order indicates that discovery closed this month, motions must be submitted in April, and a pre-trial conference will be held in July. The trial is set for August 24, 2015.
*Haussleiter, Ida S. et al. (2009). Psychopathology in multiple sclerosis: Diagnosis, prevalence and treatment. Therapeutic Advances in Neurological Disorders, 2(1), 13-29.
**Wallin, Mitchell T. et al. (2006). Depression and multiple sclerosis: Review of a lethal combination. Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development, 43(1), 45-62.
