Sonoma State students hurt on campus must seek compensation for recovery costs from the California State University system. This support should include full reimbursement for all medical bills.
Maison Law of Sonoma represents injured students and demands compensation for victims when universities are negligent in keeping them safe.
We provide a free, no-obligation consultation for all victims and their families. Contact us to set up a confidential case review to find out what an injury should be worth and how to hold universities fully responsible.
Do I Need a Lawyer After Suffering an Accident at Cal State Sonoma?
If you suffer a serious injury on or around campus, and CSU Sonoma was responsible for the accident, you should take advantage of a free consultation with a skilled California College Premises Liability Lawyer. You should know what your case is worth before state lawyers and insurance adjusters try to convince you it’s worth very little.
When medical bills rise, liability insurance providers for schools will fight harder against accepting fault. Lawyers for the school may find ways to make it look like you were to blame for your own accident. Insurance adjusters may question everything about your injury, trying to make it seem less serious, so they can get away with offering you less for care.
A Maison Law attorney is someone on your side who fully investigates what happened to you and collects powerful evidence to prove who was at fault. Then, your attorney demands everything you’ll require to make a full recovery. Your final settlement is usually much more than you could win by taking on a giant school system yourself.
Who Is Responsible for an Accident on the Campus of Sonoma State?
Under California Civil Code CCC 1714, anyone who owns or operates a public place must take responsibility for the visitors they invite in. Schools are responsible for giving students safe living spaces in dorms, and obstacle-free sidewalks and stairwells.
School officials make sure the grounds and buildings are monitored for accident risks that their own employees or contractors might create. They must be on the lookout for hazards that students carelessly leave behind that might harm a classmate.
These accident dangers must be repaired, replaced, or cleaned up in a reasonable amount of time. If school officials delay, and someone gets hurt, victims can seek full compensation for their recovery costs.
Maison Law helps victims recover the maximum in support for many types of personal injury accidents.
These are a few of the risks on campus that can lead to injury claims:
- Fall hazards on unmaintained stairs. Stairs with trash on steps. Crumbling steps and loose stair railings.
- Unsecure decking, ramps, and platforms.
- Hallway spills, cafeteria floors with dropped food, and bathroom leaks leading to slip-and-fall risks. Messes left on the hard floors of University Library.
- Dorm accident risks, such as puddles on bathroom floors, exposed wiring, and mold.
- Parking lot potholes, landscaping obstacles, and unsafe crosswalks.
- Unsafe decking that’s rotting or incorrectly supported.
- Traffic accidents involving unsafe crosswalks for pedestrians.
- Accident hazards at gatherings in auditoriums and theaters, like the Green Music Center. Bleacher injuries, falling ceiling pieces, and lighting gear injuries. Crowd control issues.
- Injuries suffered while using school transportation or while on a school trip or off-campus study site.
- Accidents at sorority or fraternity houses and at Greek events. A lack of oversight from the university that leads to a serious accident.
- Use of unsafe machinery, tools, and hazardous substances in classrooms and labs.
- Hiring faculty and staff without proper background checks who lack certification to oversee students safely.
- Lack of safety training for staff members.
- Negligent security, such as door locks that don’t work and a lack of security guards, leading to an assault.
Sidewalk dangers. Cal State Sonoma must also be concerned with safe walking paths from parking lots, between classes, and to residence halls like Sauvignon Village.
Any damage to concrete must be fixed before students can roll their ankles or fall and hit their head or suffer a brain injury. Uneven surfaces and potholes must be repaired. Tree root damage should be quickly smoothed over before students can trip and fall forward to land with full force on a knee.
It’s a protection for cyclists too. A sidewalk crack or gap between the concrete and the curb can capture a bike tire, sending a rider to the sidewalk or even out into the roadway. These dangers must be taken care of.
The Added Difficulty of Filing an Injury Claim against a State School
California universities enjoy legal protections against litigation. These are just a few of the factors that make filing a claim more difficult than in a normal personal injury case.
- Quickly Approaching Deadline. 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.
- Notification. Students must actually file a notification to alert the schools of their intention to seek financial compensation. It amounts to seeking permission from the school to seek the help students need. Schools can actually decide not to grant permission to file.
- Complicated Paperwork. A case filed against a public institution will start and end with complicated paperwork.
- Battles with Teams of Lawyers. The state will always have plenty of lawyers at its disposal to fight any claims. They can refuse to accept liability, even when fault is clear-cut.
Your lawyer can take care of complicated filings and make sure you don’t miss sneaky deadlines. Your Maison Law representative will have experience taking on corporations and public entities and won’t back down. Your lawyer will also have a lawsuit prepared, just in case the California State University System doesn’t accept full blame and offer a settlement that’s fair.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Type of Evidence Should I Gather After an Accident on Campus?
Right after an accident, call for an ambulance if you or someone else is hurt. Then, if it’s safe and you feel strong enough, try to gather evidence at the scene. Take photos of the obstacle that caused you to fall. Alert campus police or a school employee so that an incident report can be filled out. Get contact information from witnesses. Note any security cameras in the area, so your lawyer can request a copy of the footage before it’s erased. Keep receipts of all medical care. Gather your medical charts.
What types of things are compensated in a premises liability accident settlement?
Students, or their parents on their behalf, must seek help with all 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 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.
Can parents seek support if a child is killed in a CSU campus accident?
Yes. California encourages families to file wrongful death claims after a tragic death. A wrongful death lawyer can help loved ones demand justice and receive support for their funeral bills and any remaining hospital invoices. They must also earn support for the loss of companionship they must cope with in the years ahead. Our attorneys want to handle this frustrating process while providing as little disruption to grieving families as possible.
Contact a CSU Sonoma Premises Liability Attorney
Maison Law gets aggressive with universities to make sure students and their families have what they need after an accident to recover and resume their education journeys. We want to handle the frustrating negotiations with lawyers working for the Cal State system while giving victims all the time they need to focus on getting better.
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. Contact us today and let us answer your questions and go over the best options for holding a school responsible for your pain.
There’s no obligation for your free case review, but if you feel we can help you earn more in support, you won’t need any money to hire us. Maison Law doesn’t get paid unless we win your case for you and your family. Then our fee comes out of the settlement that a university is forced to provide.
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