Personal Injury Lawyer

When you send a child off to college, you’ll probably have many worries and anxieties. You’ll be concerned about how your son or daughter will cope with life on his or her own. You may stress out over how your loved one will fare with coursework and with the added burden of more responsibility. One thing you shouldn’t have to fear is whether your child is at risk of dying. If someone close to you dies while on a college campus, many factors could have caused the incident. If you suspect administrators at the school are to blame, you should speak with a personal injury lawyer in Trenton, NJ.

Types of Wrongful Death Claims on a College Campus

Like anywhere else, accidents can happen on campus. Before you get too serious about filing a lawsuit, it will be helpful to understand which scenarios may implicate the school itself. If your loved dies because of structural or mechanical failure in a building, you may be able to prove that school officials knew of such conditions but didn’t do anything about them. Another example may be if campus police of security failed to respond to a complaint or tip about suspicious activity on campus. If this oversight led to your loved one’s death at the hands of someone else, a wrongful death lawsuit may be valid. You may also sue if your lawyer determines the school had insufficient safety protocol in the event of an emergency. Or, you could file a lawsuit if your child died after exposure to a chemical or material in class, and the school didn’t provide the essential equipment.

Determining Fault

To successfully win a wrongful death lawsuit, the burden of proof is on you and your attorney to show that the school is liable for the loved one’s passing. Your lawyer will work to show that school officials acted with negligence through poor judgment or wrongdoing. You may even find that college officials deliberately covered up facts or intended to bring harm to your loved one.

Damages to Recover

In your lawsuit, you will seek damages for medical bills. Those costs may fall upon you as a surviving family member. You can sue for damages to pay for hospital stays, medication, surgeries and medical equipment. Your damages may also include wages your loved one lost or the pain and suffering you have felt due to this loss. You may even seek punitive damages, which would punish the school administrators for their actions or inactions.

A wrongful death lawsuit is a serious complaint. Your lawyer will make sure you pursue this correctly and get the help you need.

Thanks to Davis & Brusca for their insight into personal injury claims and wrongful death claims involving college students.