Boston Injury Lawyer Blog
Boston University is increasing security measures following a rape that occurred in the Warren Towers campus dorm on September 30. The rape victim was a guest of one of the students living on the all-women floor of the co-ed dorm. She says she was raped in one of the dorm’s bathroom stalls.
Boston University Police (BUPD) is now conducting random security patrols of Warren Towers and other large dorm units on campus.
The owners and managers of public and private properties, including dorm buildings, college campuses, nightclubs, hospitals, banks, parking lots, shopping malls, coffee shops, and office buildings, are legally obligated to provide adequate and proper security if they know that people will live, visit, or do business on a premise. Failure to do so can be grounds for personal injury or wrongful death liability if a crime occurs on the premise and someone is injured or killed.
The National Center for Victims of Crime says one out of every four women in college either has been raped or was nearly raped. Many rape incidents go unreported.
2003 Rape Statistics on US Campuses:
• 2581 people were victims of forcible sexual offenses on campus • 1808 people were sexually assaulted in campus residence halls • 367 students were sexually assaulted off-campus
In Massachusetts, if a person is raped, robbed, or physically assaulted on a premise by a third party because the property owner or manager did not provide the proper security that could have prevented the crime from occurring, the property owner or manager could be held legally responsible.
Other grounds for premises liability claims and lawsuits include slip and fall accidents, falling merchandise injuries, and exposure to toxic or hazardous substances.
Police have no leads in sexual assault case, The Daily Free Press, October 16, 2007
Rape in BU dorm leads to heightened school security, WHDH.com, October 2, 2007
Forcible Sex Offenses, US Department of Education
Relatd Web Resources:
Rape on Campus, Rapis.org
Warren Towers, Boston University
In Massachusetts, please contact the personal injury law firm of Altman & Altman LLP if you have been sexually assaulted, physically assaulted, or mugged on a premise that is owned or managed by someone else.
We can determine whether the property owner or manager could have done something to prevent the crime from occurring. You could be eligible to receive personal injury compensation for the horrible crime that was done to you. There may be more than one person or institution that can be held liable. Contact Altman & Altman LLP today.
