Woman Suffers a Cardiac Arrest While Taking the Bar Exam — and Proctors Allegedly Didn’t Stop to Provide Help

A bar exam taker went into cardiac arrest during the test — and proctors allegedly continued the exam instead of stopping to help.

The medical emergency happened on July 30 while the New York State Board of Law Examiners (NYSBOLE) was conducting the New York State Bar Examination at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., a university spokesperson told PEOPLE.

According to the representative, the individual — identified by local outlet Newsday as a woman — “collapsed shortly before the scheduled lunch break and fell from their chair.”

“Hofstra Public Safety officers immediately provided life-saving emergency care, including CPR and defibrillation, until paramedics arrived and transported the individual to a local hospital,” the spokesperson said.

The woman was not a Hofstra graduate, the school confirmed. “Our thoughts are with them and their loved ones, and we wish them a full and speedy recovery. Further details about Bar Exam protocols should be directed to the NYSBOLE,” the statement added.

In a statement to PEOPLE, Joseph Landau, Dean of Fordham Law School, confirmed the woman had graduated from the New York City-based institution.

“We were saddened to learn of what happened to one of our graduates during the New York Bar Exam this week and have been in touch with the family to monitor the graduate’s health,” Landau said. “Our thoughts are with the graduate and the family, and out of respect for their privacy, we do not have any further comment.”

On Reddit, another test taker alleged the woman received no immediate aid from proctors.

“She collapsed onto the floor and was making gurgling sounds, clearly in serious distress. For what felt like a long time, no one reacted until a few people began calling for help and making a scene,” the user wrote.

“The exam never stopped. Everyone just… kept going. Or at least tried to,” they continued. “I understand that emergencies are unpredictable and that there might not be much flexibility built into bar exam procedures — but this felt wrong.”

Newsday reported that examinees returned to finish the test after lunch, and no announcement was made about the incident. The woman was transported by ambulance to Nassau University Medical Center.

Another person who was present told Newsday, “That’s a real person who could be dying right in front of us, and we’re still being expected to continue to finish our questions for this exam. From a purely human standpoint, that’s another human being in distress, and that’s not something that you could just flip to the back of your mind immediately — at least for me.”

The Nassau County Police Department (NCPD), Nassau University Medical Center, the NYSBOLE, and the National Conference of Bar Examiners did not respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.