By Alyck Horton
Portland State recently found itself on the receiving end of a $1.6 million lawsuit filed by a former student. The suit claims that the university failed to keep the plaintiff safe from harm. Should PSU be held liable?
In 2010, the plaintiff, Clifford A. Richardson, was sitting with a companion outside the Montgomery Court building when he was approached by another resident, Heath Avery, who appeared disgruntled and showed signs of a questionable mental state.
Avery claimed Richardson and his friend were “talking about [him]” and grabbed Richardson by his shirt collar. In response he received two blows to the face in attempted self-defense. Avery then pulled out an 8-inch knife and stabbed Richardson in the abdomen, resulting in a 3-inch-deep wound and a punctured spleen.
Richardson spent a week in the hospital, accumulating almost $86,000 in medical bills. Avery, originally charged with assault in the first degree, pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree assault and, in January 2011, was sentenced to three years in prison.
Over the year prior to the stabbing, campus security had been called three times by staff and students who didn’t wish to start an altercation with Avery. Students were uncomfortable around him, claiming he would stare unremittingly and continue to do so even after confronted.
Richardson had previously discussed his discomfort regarding Avery with a staff member, but Avery received no discipline. He continued living in the same dorm as Richardson until the night of the stabbing.
The lawsuit makes two main claims: that PSU was negligent for not seeking mental help for Avery and for allowing him to have the knife despite a policy prohibiting such items.
I’d bet half of the student population is hiding a bag of weed in their sock drawers, which also is against school policy, but nobody is suing the university.
The school can’t be held liable for not searching through students’ possessions. Had staff been aware of the knife, or had it been in plain view prior to the stabbing, then yes it was a lapse in responsibility, but PSU can’t be blamed for something it wasn’t aware of.
In second grade another student bit my arm during an argument in class. The kid had emotional issues, and we were all aware and acted accordingly. Though the bite hurt like hell, I didn’t sue the school for pain and suffering because of the kid’s actions.
It’s almost become an American tradition to sue whenever something bad happens to us. This trend costs us $233 billion annually, but it costs us more than that—it costs us our dignity. Doctors are refusing to help injured pedestrians on the streets for fear of being sued; we have to sign waivers before we can do anything; and people are pouring water on the floors of department stores in hopes that a slip-and-fall lawsuit will pay off their trailer.
Let’s be honest. If PSU had taken disciplinary action, such as expulsion or eviction, against Avery, and he were diagnosed with a mental illness, that’s a whole new can-of-lawsuit-worms. Had he previously been violent toward someone, that would have justified an investigation. But evicting a guy because he’s creepy isn’t a legitimate argument.