Maison Law wins injury support for students at San Marcos 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.
Do I Need a Lawyer After I Was Injured at Cal State San Marcos?
The seriousness of our injuries will usually determine if you need legal protection for your case. If you only suffer very minor injuries, you may be fine handling your case on your own. But if your injuries are more serious, like a broken bone, you might not need a lawyer’s help proving the school was at fault.
The difference is in the totals on medical bills. When hospital costs run high, the Cal State University School System will fight extra hard to avoid blame. That’s when they call in their team of state lawyers to start attacking your claim.
A California College Premises Liability Lawyer protects students from the blame game that often allows universities to escape liability.
These are a few of the benefits students will find when trusting their cases to an experienced lawyer:
- A full investigation into your accident and into the school’s negligent actions.
- All evidence collected and preserved to build a strong case.
- Complicated paperwork filed correctly and on time on your behalf.
- Filing a claim for you and handling all communication and negotiations. Maison Law handles the entire frustrating process with as little disruption to your recovery process as possible.
- Fighting to earn as much as possible for you and your family. This is often much more than you could earn by filing yourself.
- A lawsuit readied. Your Maison Law attorney would have a lawsuit ready to file if a university refused to accept 100% blame and liability for your accident.
Who Is To Blame for My Accident on Campus at San Marcos State?
Under California Civil Code CCC 1714, schools are responsible for the safety of every visitor, student, and staff member. All property owners and operators, including college officials and staff, must constantly monitor for hazards created by the school’s daily operations.
That can include the reckless actions of employees, as well as contractors working on the property. They must also monitor for the carelessness of other students who could leave hazards for the next co-ed who comes along.
These hazards must be repaired, cleaned up, or removed before someone gets hurt. If someone is hurt, CSU San Marcos bears liability and can be asked to pay medical bills and other damages.
The Common Accident Dangers Found on University Campuses
Personal injury hazards tend to arise in high-traffic areas, where a lot of people walk, run, and bike each day. As soon as a student drops candy on a stairwell or spills a latte in a hallway, cleanup crews should be on the way. They must remove the slipping hazard, mop up, and leave behind “wet floor” signs.
Too often, these dangers aren’t caught in time, and students end up getting hurt.
These ignored hazards and others can all lead to injury claims and help for students:
- Slip-and-fall and trip-and-fall injuries when stepping on hazards in hallways, in campus bathrooms, in dorms, in cafeterias, in parking lots, at University Library, and elsewhere.
- Fall injury hazards on stairs, platforms, decks, and along unsecured railings.
- Injuries at sporting events for the Cougars. Bleacher accidents. Gymnasium injuries.
- Injuries in auditoriums and campus theaters. Risks of falling lighting and audio equipment. Falls caused by darkened aisles.
- Injuries suffered on field trips or at off-campus study sites. Injuries sustained on satellite campuses, like CSUSM at Temecula.
- Drownings, near-drownings, and other accidents at school pools and residence hall pools
- Injuries suffered at sorority or fraternity houses and at Greek events.
- Electrical shock injuries in dorms and classrooms.
- Burns and inhalation injuries due to hazardous substances, like heavy-duty cleaners and chemicals used in labs.
- Employees lacking safety training and certification. Improper background checks that leave unqualified people overseeing safety and handling emergencies.
- Injuries caused by criminal acts allowed by negligent security. This might involve the college providing poor lighting, broken security cameras, and door locks on buildings, like North Commons, which might not keep unauthorized people out. The negligence may involve a lack of security guards that allows an assault to occur.
Injured students can seek support after an accident, but a settlement check is not automatic. Universities can deny blame. The level of support for each case is also not set at a certain level. Two students with very similar injuries can see very different amounts on settlement checks.
It’s often up to a skilled attorney to put pressure on large entities like CSU and demand everything necessary for the victim’s recovery. Maison Law would investigate what happened and then seek the maximum in support for students and their families.
Common Injuries Suffered by Students On Campus
Victims in campus accidents might suffer injuries that restrict their movement for months. They could be forced to abandon school for a while and return home. Injury recovery can be difficult and take weeks, months, or years. It’s why earning comprehensive support from those at fault is so important.
Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs) are one of the most dangerous injuries suffered in campus accidents. Students may slip on some spilled ice from a drink and hit their heads on the edge of a table or on the hard floor. They may fall down a set of stairs or off a bleacher to suffer a hard blow to the skull.
A TBI is a blow to the head that affects brain function. USC Today reports TBIs can leave students to deal with impaired memory and vision, hearing, or speech problems. The effects are usually temporary, but in extreme cases, victims can suffer with symptoms their whole lives.
Wounds suffered on any part of the body can be debilitating. These are just a few of the most common injuries that can land students in the ER at Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center:
- Broken bones, including damage to joints like the hips, knees, and ankles, after a trip-and-fall
- Neck and Back Injuries after tumbling down a flight of residence hall stairs
- Skull Fractures after a fall from an unstable platform or deck
- Eye injuries after exposure to a fire and smoke
- Hearing damage around tools and machinery
- Cuts and deep puncture wounds after a slip-and-fall near sharp edges on desks and countertops
Frequently Asked Questions
Is filing an injury claim against a public school complicated?
Yes. The level of difficulty is often high. Government entities and public institutions enjoy legal protections against litigation. The statute of limitations on injury claims is very short when compared to normal personal injury cases. Victims must also file a notice with the California State school system, alerting them to a potential claim, and basically ask permission to seek compensation. It’s the start of a frustrating process that will require a lot of complicated paperwork. Your lawyer can take care of complicated filings, fight back against state lawyers, and make sure you don’t miss sneaky deadlines.
What if I can’t afford to pay a college premises liability accident attorney?
You won’t need any upfront money to hire a skilled lawyer to handle your case while you focus on healing. Maison Law doesn’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the settlement that the school system must pay you.
What types of things are compensated in a campus accident settlement?
Students and their parents must seek money to pay 100% of their medical bills. The physical pain and emotional trauma a student is put through must also factor into a settlement check. The student’s lost income while they are away from a campus job must be reimbursed. The student must receive the university’s help in resetting their college educational track if they must miss weeks or entire semesters of classes. Wrongful Death claims: Families are empowered to seek financial help if a university’s mistake claims a precious life.
Contact a San Marcos 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, while providing as little disruption to injured students as possible. We want to see victims get back on their feet and back in the classroom.
Maison Law offers a free and confidential case consultation to all victims who suffer harm on campus, at a Greek house, or even off campus. We can help victims of accidents in San Marcos, no matter where they are from. Contact us today and let us answer your questions and go over the best options for holding a school responsible for your pain.
Additional Resources:
