One of the worst phone calls a parent can receive has to do with something happening to a child. No matter what age, losing a child can have long-lasting and devastating consequences for a family unit. What happens if that death occurs while away at school? Is the college liable for the incident that claimed their life? If your child dies on campus, some things may qualify the death for a wrongful death lawsuit.
Safety Standards Breached
A college is required to establish safety standards on campus. While it is not tasked with ensuring every student upholds these standards, it does bear some of the blame if it ignores warning signs that student safety is at risk. Take, for instance, campus lighting. If school maintenance is aware that the campus is dimmer because some of the lights have gone out, and if it does not replace them within a reasonable time, any incident or death that results in those areas may fall squarely on the shoulders of the school.
Campus Security Response
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Criminal activity goes on all over the country, and college campuses are not immune. Many schools have a security department that is responsible for patrolling the area to ensure that student property and lives are safe from harm. intrusions into cars, dorms, and the often resulting theft are the most common crimes on college campuses. However, these breaches may lead to higher-level offenses such as assault, battery, and even murder. If campus security knows that threat levels are increasing, they should increase campus awareness, patrol these areas more often and take further action to make the campus safer.
Campus-Wide Safety Protocols
Each person has the right to feel safe. Some people, however, are more of a target than others. Women or those of smaller stature may become targets of criminals because they may be easier to harm. Colleges can be proactive and present general safety tips to students to help keep them more aware of their surroundings. It can arm students with knowledge about recent campus crime statistics and offer tips on how they can better protect themselves. Services such as security phones, self-locking dorm doors, courtesy campus pickup, and reporting procedures should be presented to all students.
If a student is murdered on campus, while the college may not be directly responsible, it may have overlooked some of the elements that led to the incident. A personal injury lawyer in Harrisonburg, Virginia may be able to help determine whether your child’s death was the result of a college oversight and if there is anything you are entitled to as the victim’s parent.
Contact MartinWren, P.C. for their insight into personal injury claims and college liability.
Call 434-817-3100 or complete a Case Evaluation form
