The Peace Corps has agreed to pay $750,000 to the family of a 24-year-old volunteer from Illinois who died in 2018 in East Africa after the agency’s doctors misdiagnosed a case of malaria, a law firm announced Tuesday.
The doctor told her to drink water and take aspirin, said Dinnell, whose firm filed a federal lawsuit for damages in Chicago on behalf of the Heiderman family.
Her daughter had wanted to join the Peace Corps since the time she was in junior high, Heiderman said.
The Peace Corps issued a statement saying it “continues to mourn the tragic loss of Volunteer Bernice Heiderman.”“She was a remarkable Volunteer who was admired by her students and community in Comoros.
The inspector general's review also found that Heiderman had not been following her required malaria suppression medication regime for several months prior to her death.
Persons:
Bernice Heiderman, wasn’t, Adam Dinnell, Schiffer Hicks Johnson PLLC, Dinnell, Julie Heiderman, “, Heiderman, ___ Kusmer
Organizations:
Corps, Peace Corps, Houston, Associated Press, Volunteers
Locations:
Illinois, East Africa, Inverness , Illinois, Comoros, Chicago, Mozambique, Madagascar, Washington, Indianapolis