Exploitation of student labor is nothing new, but that fact doesn’t make it any less unethical, or in one Tennessee university student’s case, life-changing in the worst way. It all began when the student’s professor had them enroll in an internship from May to June in 2023. During this internship, they were told to clean areas contaminated with bird and rodent waste. However, suddenly on Christmas, they became extremely sick with histoplasmosis, a fungal infection that did a number on their vital organs.
As anyone would have guessed, histoplasmosis is usually caused by coming into contact with the droppings of birds and rodents. Even though the school gave the intern basic goggles, an N-95 mask, and gloves to do the biohazard cleaning job, clearly something was lacking to prevent them from being contaminated. Unfortunately, they never fully recovered from their infection. The histoplasmosis “has torn up my lungs and blew out my kidneys (less than 5% function, end stage renal disease),” the student explained on r/legaladvice.
It was pretty evident that the histoplasmosis was directly connected to the internship they were involved in years ago. “I was not warned of such extreme risks to my health before starting the task, and the ppe provided to me was insufficient to adequately protect me from such a hazard,” the student remarked. Now, they want to take legal action against the school for putting them into this awful situation concerning their health. “I have had to go on disability and put my entire life on hold due to physical limitations from what I have been through.”
Unfortunately, r/legaladvice is certainly not the place to receive any detailed suggestions in this complex case, according to several in the comment section. Of course, getting a lawyer to help with the case is without question the top priority. But the student will also need evidence to prove the sickness was caused by the poorly managed internship; without that, the university will most definitely come out on top.
