Maison Law wins injury support for students at San Diego State who have been hurt in accidents in unsafe dorms, in unsafe classrooms, or anywhere on campus.
Our personal injury lawyers demand compensation for injured students to help them pay for their medical care and other damages.
We provide a free, no-obligation consultation for all victims and their families. Contact us to set up a confidential case review to be informed of what your case, or your child’s case, is worth and how to make sure a university is held accountable.
How Do I Know If I Need a Lawyer to Handle My Campus Accident Claim?
It’s a good idea to closely consider your injuries if you are wondering if you need a lawyer or not. If you get injured in a campus accident and your injuries are very minor, like just bruising or some scrapes, you may not require a lawyer’s help. But if your injuries are more serious, like a back injury, a wrist fracture, or an injury affecting your brain, and CSU San Diego’s carelessness is to blame, it’s probably a good idea to have legal protection.
A serious injury comes with a higher medical price tag. Escalating costs make universities and their insurers nervous and prompt them to fight harder to avoid taking blame for an accident. Their tactics can rob you of the valuable support you need to make a full physical and financial recovery.
A good California college premises liability lawyer fights back when insurers try to blame you for your accident. Your lawyer is a safeguard when insurers and school lawyers attempt to downplay your injuries so they can offer you less in compensation.
Maison Law fully investigates what happened to you, so the story can’t be changed. Then we work to secure the most for your injury. That often means we win much more for your recovery than you could by taking on a university yourself.
Who Is Responsible If I Fall and Get Hurt on CSU San Diego Campus?
California’s Civil Code (CCC) goes over the responsibilities of property owners and operators that they must observe to keep their visitors and residents safe. It’s a part of premises liability laws that force universities to consider student and staff safety at all times.
CCC. 1714:
“(a) Everyone is responsible, not only for the result of his or her willful acts, but also for an injury occasioned to another by his or her want of ordinary care or skill in the management of his or her property or person, except so far as the latter has, willfully or by want of ordinary care, brought the injury upon himself or herself.”
Colleges and universities must constantly monitor every inch of their campuses for any accident dangers that students or contractors might create. They must also monitor the activities of organizations, like fraternities around their campuses, that they can bear responsibility for.
They are required to remove, repair, or clean up these dangers before someone gets hurt. If a student ends up getting injured, the university can be liable for all hospital bills and other hardships victims are put through.
The Types of Campus Hazards that Endanger Cal State San Diego Students
Cal State students lead busy lives between classroom study, eating, sleeping, and socializing. They can be forgiven for not noticing some of the accident dangers that can pop up around busy places like the Campus of Cal State San Diego.
Victims can fall on slippery spots created by another student’s spilled soda and suffer broken wrists, and neck and back injuries. They can have heavy objects fall on them, like speakers in a theater, to suffer dangerous head injuries and Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs). And there are many other ways students can get hurt and have their educational journeys put on hold.
These are just a few of the biggest threats to students as they enjoy their time away from home and work towards their degrees:
- Dorm injury risks such as exposed wiring, unsecured bed frames, and unmopped bathroom floors. Negligent security at dorms leading to assaults in places like South Campus Plaza and Tenochca.
- Stairwell fall hazards and unsecured railings.
- Hallway spills and bathroom leaks in campus buildings.
- Parking lot potholes, landscaping obstacles, and unsafe crosswalks.
- Damaged campus sidewalks and walkways, including tree root damage, creating trip-and-fall hazards, bicycle hazards, and accessibility issues.
- Unsafe decking that’s rotting or incorrectly supported.
- Injuries suffered while using school transportation or while on a school trip.
- Injuries suffered on field trips or at off-campus study sites. Injuries sustained at the Imperial Valley satellite campus.
- Use of unsafe machinery and tools in classrooms and in field training.
- Accident hazards at sporting events to watch the Aztecs, and in auditoriums.
- Accidents at fraternity and sorority houses and at Greek events.
- Exposure to hazardous substances, like chemicals or cleaners.
- Drownings, near-drownings, and other accidents at the Aztec Aquaplex and in campus gymnasiums.
- Hiring faculty and staff without proper background checks or training to safely oversee students.
- Lack of safety training for all staff members.
- Negligent security across campus, such as poor lighting and a lack of security guards, leading to students being exposed to criminal threats.
If these or any other accidents happen to you or a child enrolled at CSU San Diego, be sure to contact a skilled lawyer as soon as possible. Evidence can disappear, surveillance video can be erased, and witnesses can become hard to locate after weeks or months have gone by.
You can also go past a statute of limitations on your case and end up having your case rejected because you waited too long.
How Much Can I Earn in an Injury Claim Against the Cal State University School System?
The amount you earn in an accident settlement is largely dependent on the severity of your injuries. The longer your recovery takes, the higher a settlement figure will need to be to cover all the recovery expenses.
A skilled San Diego attorney will be able to give you a better idea of what you may take home after hearing from you about the accident and having time to investigate the circumstances.
However, your hospital bills and the effect an injury has on your everyday life and your academic pursuits will play a role in how much you’ll need to demand.
These are just a few of the factors that should determine how much your settlement amount grows:
- Cost of medical care now and the expenses coming in the years ahead
- Costs of physical therapy and other rehabilitation
- Lifetime expenses for a student suffering a permanent disability
- Support for the physical pain experienced
- Support for the emotional trauma inflicted
- Support for the loss of enjoyment of life due to an injury
- Travel costs while attending doctors’ appointments
- Totals on lost income and benefits while missing part-time or full-time work
- The amount of tuition money that must be refunded if an injury victim can’t return to class right away
The Added Difficulty of Filing a Claim against a California State School
California universities enjoy legal protections against litigation. The first protection is the deadline you have to meet just to file a successful claim. The statute of limitations on state university-involved cases is often only a few months. Miss this deadline, and your case will likely be rejected.
Injured students are also forced to alert the school system when they intend to file an injury claim. This gives them time to prepare a defense and also extends how long victims often have to wait for help.
A case filed with a state school will start and end with complicated paperwork. A lawyer can help you fill these documents out correctly and on time. Any mistakes can be used as a reason to dismiss the case.
You’ll also have to face off against a team of lawyers ready to help the school slip out from under blame. It’s a great idea to even the playing field by having your own experienced lawyer on your side. Your lawyer can take care of complicated filings and make sure you don’t miss sneaky deadlines.
Contact a San Diego State Premises Liability Attorney
Maison Law aggressively protects students and their families after an accident on a state university campus. We want to handle the frustrating negotiations with lawyers working for the Cal State system. Universities are quick to accept tuition checks each year, but they must also be first in line to help students who are injured on campus.
Maison Law offers a free and confidential case consultation to all victims who suffer harm on campus or at a Greek house. Contact us today and let us answer your questions and go over the best options for holding a school or organization responsible for their negligence.
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