N-ConfusedPorphyrin

Those waivers carry nowhere the weight they profess to. Call a personal injury attorney anyhow. You don't have to seek a zillion dollars compensation, but the medical bills related to this should be covered, as well as compensation for actual damages.

There is a sub - /r/legaladvice who would be happy to give you general information on your options.

Best of luck to you! And congratulations on graduation!

They're well-written to make you think they are. And they cover some things, certainly. You aren't entitled to sue just because you didn't enjoy the experiment, but you were caused significant damage that has potential long term consequences. Assuming a medical school or affiliated university was conducting the study, someone who should have known better (eg the doctor who said you were fine) dropped a ball.

Medical malpractice is a very, VERY difficult thing to pursue. There are (mistaken) beliefs of some people that the ER missed an inflamed appendix and sent you home with some nausea meds, then a week later you're in surgery having it removed and it's payday. That not the case. The bar is set that a doctor has to have grossly neglected their duty beyond the point a reasonable doctor would.

Medical studies have different rules, but it absolutely does not allow them to completely screw the pooch and say "oops," and you're stuck being damaged with no recourse. This is not to say you would get excessive money for pain and suffering. But you should be entitled to actual damages - all the medical expenses and things like ongoing physical therapy, loss of use, lost time from work, etc. You can always get free consultations with personal injury attorneys; talk to a few and see what they say. They also work on contingency for a portion of the settlement so you won't have to pay upfront anything.

If they say you have no case, then you probably don't. But in your situation, I truly believe you do. I used to do medical research, though not on human subjects as I am a Ph.D and not an MD. I have seen more than one major lawsuit come from human studies and I worked at the medical school for only 3 years.

Best of luck to you and I hope you fully recover quickly. Now, get out there and celebrate graduation!!