Loyola University has over 6,000 students on its campus in suburban Maryland. While the University might generally work to keep its student body safe, accidents happen. If the University commits safety errors or fails to keep students safe, victims may be able to take the school to court to seek compensation for their injuries.
If you were injured while attending Loyola University, contact Rice, Murtha & Psoras today. Our personal injury lawyer for Loyola students injured on campus may be able to take your case and fight to get you the compensation you need. For a free legal consultation, call our law offices at (410) 694-7291.
Suing a College for Injuries in Maryland
If you were injured on campus at a college campus like Loyola’s, you may be entitled to sue for the injuries you sustained. In many cases, the injuries you face are the university’s responsibility. As the property owner and the party responsible for upkeep and maintenance across campus, the University may be sued in court for injuries.
Courts hold property owners and other parties responsible if their negligence caused the victim’s injuries. “Negligence” refers to a party’s failure to use the proper care or skill appropriate for their situation. If a school’s negligent resulted in injuries, the college can be held liable for many accidents, including the following examples:
- Failing to provide adequate security
- Electrocution hazards
- Slip and fall hazards
- Structural damage and building collapses
- Auto accidents involving university vehicles
- Fires
- Food poisoning from dining halls
- Unnecessary injuries from on-campus sports
Proving the college was negligent means showing that the hazard was under the university’s control and that they failed to prevent injury by acting unreasonably or violating state or federal law.
Typically, the college is responsible for its employees’ errors. As long as the college employee’s negligence occurred while they were working within the scope of their job, the college can be made to pay damages for something its employee did. This means that if a campus shuttle driver hits a student, that student might be able to sue because driving the shuttle was within the scope of the employee’s job duties. However, this may not give you the ability to sue the college for a professor who injured you in a car crash since driving a car was not part of the professor’s job.
If the college was not responsible for the accident, you may still be able to sue the responsible parties directly. This can happen in cases where another student intentionally injures you or you are involved in a car accident on or near campus.
Damages from College Campus Injuries at Loyola
If you can establish that the college is responsible for the injuries you faced, then you should be able to recover compensation for any harms resulting from the injury. In most injury cases, you can claim compensation for both the economic harms you faced as well as intangible harms.
Economic damages from an injury case typically include the cost of medical expenses and lost wages. Serious injuries often require intensive medical care and potentially even require ongoing medical care or home care. Especially if you are left with a physical disability or permanent injury like traumatic brain injuries or spinal cord injury, the care costs could be high. Lost wages can also be claimed in most injury cases where the injuries prevent you from returning to work.
Students who were not working when their injury occurred may not have lost wages to sue for, but they may be able to sue for any effects that the injury has on their future earning capacity. This would include compensation if your injuries prevent you from working in higher-paying jobs because of your physical limitations.
Intangible damages typically include compensation for pain and suffering. A judge or jury may not be able to see or feel the physical pain and mental suffering that you face from the injury, but you can still sue for these damages. Your testimony about how the injury affected your activities, your education opportunities, and your enjoyment of life can help explain to a jury what your pain and suffering should be worth. Moreover, more severe injuries are typically worth higher damages.
When you claim these damages in court, you can often claim the full amount of the damages you suffered. If you instead accept a settlement from the University or their insurance, you may not get your damages covered in full. Insurance companies typically pay only a fraction of the damages for medical bills and lost wages, and they typically will not cover pain and suffering damages. It is also important to remember that the University, their insurance company, and their lawyers do not represent your interests. It is important to hire an attorney to protect your interest and ensure that you are not underpaid for your damages.
Deadline to File Injury Cases Against Colleges in Maryland
In Maryland, the deadline to file a personal injury case is typically 3 years from the date of injury. If you wait too long, you might be barred from filing your case in court. it is vital to talk to a lawyer and get help filing your case as soon as you can to make sure your right to sue is well protected.
Call Our Loyola University Injury Lawyers for a Free Legal Consultation
If you or a loved one was injured on the Loyola University campus, contact the Baltimore personal injury lawyers at Rice, Murtha & Psoras today. Randolph Rice represents injured college students and fights to get them compensation for their injuries, even if it means filing a lawsuit against their college or another large company or corporation. For a free legal consultation on your injury case, contact our personal injury lawyer for Loyola students injured on campus. Call (410) 694-7291 today to set up your free legal consultation.