A Northeastern University student and her parents are suing her sorority, its chapter president and an apartment landlord after the junior was left with "catastrophic and permanent injuries" from falling out of a window at a party.
According to the lawsuit, filed in Massachusetts court in March, the fall happened on March 31, 2023, while Sarah Cox was at an apartment that her sorority, the Phi Omega chapter of Alpha Epsilon Phi, used as their sorority house. The suit claims that during a party that evening at the second-floor apartment, Cox was in a crowded kitchen when she fell out of a window and onto the driveway at least 20 feet below.
The serious injuries she suffered as a result of the fall have "significantly restructured" the lives of Cox's parents because they now have to "provide care and support of every aspect of Sarah's life 24 hours per day and 7 days per week on a permanent basis," the lawsuit states.
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Cox and her family allege the landlord was negligent in knowingly allowing more people in the apartment than it could safely accommodate, also adding there were 30 people in the unit at the time of the party. They also allege the landlord failed to warn about the property's windows, which they claim were installed so low that someone could "easily" fall from them.
The family also asserts the same charges for the sorority and its president, saying both failed to keep the apartment visitors safe from dangers that could have been exacerbated by alcohol consumption at related events.
The case is set to return to court next month, where the plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial while the defendants are pushing to have the suit dismissed, according to the Boston Globe. The publication says the defense has said in court papers that the Cox family hasn't outlined how the student fell from the window and therefore doesn't have evidence to prove negligence.
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The Huntington News, an independent newspaper of Northeastern University, reported that Cox has been in a catatonic state since hitting the driveway and now resides in a pediatric nursing home.
A GoFundMe set up by Sarah's brother said she wanted to be a doctor "to help other people her whole life" and that she had just returned from her third international medical mission trip to help those with limited access to health care.
The fundraiser has raised nearly $128,000 of its $150,000 goal as of Wednesday. In the latest update, dated Dec. 4, 2023, the family said they had rented an apartment across from the pediatric rehab to be close to Cox while she receives "intensive and specialized therapies" to hopefully expedite her recovery.
"Our days and night merge into a blur as we take care of our precious daughter," the update read. "Your duas (prayers) and love has sustained us thus far and will carry us forward as well. Please keep Sarah in your prayers and know that we are so appreciative and blessed for your presence in our lives."
