In a pivotal decision, the Indiana Supreme Court has reinstated a lawsuit filed by a former student who was injured by a falling window at Indiana University, holding that negligence may be inferred under the legal doctrine of res ipsa loquitur.
The incident occurred in April 2018, when Kiera Isgrig, a college student, was studying in a university room and was struck by a window and its casing, which suddenly fell from the wall. Although the precise cause of the accident was unclear, a university carpenter, Kevin Ashley, inspected the window and found no visible defects that would have led to its collapse without warning—though he did note that two sash springs were broken. The window had last been serviced in March 2017.
Initially, the Monroe Circuit Court granted summary judgment in favor of the Trustees of Indiana University. The court reasoned that the university neither had actual nor constructive knowledge of a hazardous condition and ruled that the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur—which allows negligence to be inferred from the nature of an unexplained accident—was not applicable in this premises liability case.
However, the Indiana Court of Appeals disagreed and reversed the decision. It held that res ipsa loquitur can apply to fixtures like windows in premises liability cases. The court found it significant that a window falling out of a wall without any outside interference is not an event that typically occurs in the absence of negligence, especially when the university maintained exclusive control over the premises.
The Indiana Supreme Court affirmed this reasoning. In its ruling, the court concluded that Isgrig had presented enough evidence to raise a genuine issue of material fact regarding the university’s potential negligence. The justices emphasized that because the university was solely responsible for maintaining the window, and because such an incident is highly unusual, it was appropriate to allow the case to proceed under the theory of res ipsa loquitur.
As a result, the court reversed the summary judgment and remanded the case for further proceedings. The decision underscores that institutions responsible for property maintenance may be held liable when unexplained structural failures cause injury—even in the absence of direct evidence of negligence.
The case is titled Isgrig v. Trustees of Indiana University.
Source: Justia.com
