Students generally expect to remain safe while attending classes, living in dorms and otherwise participating in activities on a college campus. However, accidents and injuries can happen. If a student is hurt on campus, they may understandably wonder if they are empowered to sue the college for their harm.
Under certain circumstances, students can indeed pursue legal action against a college if they get hurt on campus. However, every case is unique. As such, it’s generally unwise to make assumptions about the strength of one’s case before pursuing legal guidance.
Premises liability considerations
Colleges and universities, like other property owners, are generally required to maintain their property safely for the benefit of residents and visitors alike. To successfully sue a college for injuries sustained on campus, an injured student typically needs to prove that the college was negligent. This generally involves demonstrating that the college breached its duty of care, that the breach directly caused the injury and that the injury was a foreseeable result of the breach.
For instance, if a student is assaulted on campus and the college had prior knowledge of inadequate security measures or a history of similar incidents but did nothing to improve safety, the student may have a strong case for negligence. The college’s failure to provide adequate security could be seen as a breach of its duty to protect students from foreseeable harm.
With all of this said, it’s important to note that some colleges, particularly public universities, may be protected by sovereign immunity, which limits lawsuits against government entities. However, many states, including those where public universities are located, have exceptions to sovereign immunity, allowing lawsuits under specific circumstances, such as gross negligence or dangerous conditions on public property.