If my daughter was at college and was wading in an on-campus fountain, which is condoned by the school, and injured herself is the school to be liable for her related expenses?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

If my daughter was at college and was wading in an on-campus fountain, which is condoned by the school, and injured herself is the school to be liable for her related expenses?

She stepped on a broken drain and wound up in the emergency room and received 33 stitches. She also missed a week of work, which is a hardship for her. Is it reasonable of us to expect the university to be liable for the costs associated with this incident?

Asked on November 2, 2015 under Personal Injury, Florida

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 8 years ago | Contributor

Even if the university "condones" the behavior, it was still likely negligent on your daughter's part to wade barefoot in a fountain, since there could be any number of things in there (rocks; broken bottles; etc.) that would injure her. The fact that it is negligent to have done this will at the minimum reduce what she might otherwise have been able to recover, since a plaintiff's (the person suing) own negligence proportionately reduces what she can recover. In addition, she could be viewed as having "assumed" (or accepted) the risk of injury by wading in a fountain, and this, too, can reduce or eliminate what she could recover. For these reasons, your daughter is unlikely to recover the full value of her injuries, and it's debatable whether it would be worth the cost and trouble of a lawsuit. That's not to say that she should not ask for compensation, since the school may elect to pay something; but if they refuse to pay, or don't want to pay as much as she or you want, you should think carefully about whether it's worth suing over an activity which, condoned or not, has certain risks and which your daughter voluntarily did.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption