The tragic story of Sarah Cox, the Northeastern University student who suffered severe injuries from a fall at her sorority house, progresses as her family seeks justice through a lawsuit exceeding $10 million. Cox, during her junior year, attended a party in March 2023, where she fell from a second-floor window, plummeting over 20 feet to the driveway below. This fall resulted in injuries so dire that she now requires round-the-clock care, as reported by NBC10 Boston.
Amid the outpouring of support, a GoFundMe page detailed the toll on Cox's family who have restructured their lives around her constant care needs, expressing that despite the hardships, "She is the same sweet and cherished presence in our lives that she always has been." While battling these personal trials, they have taken legal action, alleging negligence on the part of the Alpha Epsilon Phi Sorority, the property manager Marcia Ramos, and the property management company, Ramos Properties II. In court documents obtained by Boston.com, the Cox family levels blame at the sorority for failing to control the party atmosphere and the property manager for the hazardous window design that facilitated Sarah's fall.
The lawsuit, first brought to light by The Huntington News, Northeastern's student newspaper, contends that both the property manager and the sorority were aware, or should have been aware, of the dangers posed by the low windows in the presence of alcohol-fueled gatherings. Furthermore, the suit implicates the national sorority and the local chapter, Phi Omega, as well as the former president of the sorority, Maggie Scales, who was the tenant at the time of the incident. "Maggie Scales, and the Sorority, as the hosts, had a duty to warn those in attendance at the event, including the plaintiff, Sarah Cox that under the dangerous condition they created, it is foreseeable that someone could fall out of one of the low windows," the suit stated, according to Boston.com.
James Kelly, the lawyer representing the Cox family, disclosed that the lawsuit would be subject to a motion to dismiss hearing come September, without further comment on the ongoing case. The family's legal plea for over $10 million accounts for Sarah's steep and enduring medical costs, with a poignant acknowledgment of her altered life trajectory. Both the sorority and the property manager’s legal representation were contacted, but there have been no public remarks from them regarding the pending litigation.
