Case stirs concern of school liability for student suicides

BOSTON — Han Nguyen was consumed by depression and struggling to stay afloat at one of the world’s most prestigious universities. His mental health continued to decline until one day in 2009, moments after a professor confronted him about an offensive email, the student jumped from a campus building to his death.

Nguyen’s suicide has sparked a contentious legal battle headed to Massachusetts’ highest court over whether schools can be held responsible when students take their own lives. The case is being watched by colleges and universities, who say a decision against the Massachusetts Institute of Technology would place an unreasonable burden on untrained employees to stop suicides.

“It would be groundbreaking,” said Gary Pavela, a consultant on law and policy issues in higher education. “It would cause alarm in higher education,” he said.

The student’s family says his death was preventable and that the school had a legal duty to use reasonable care to protect him from harm. Nguyen’s professors and other MIT officials knew he was a suicide risk but failed to get him the help he needed, an attorney for his family said.

Months before Nguyen’s death, a professor encouraged colleagues to pass him or they might have “blood on their hands.” Moments before Nguyen, 25, jumped, the professor “read him the riot act” over an email Nguyen sent to another MIT official that they deemed inappropriate, court records say.

“Academic freedom is not a license to needlessly and recklessly endanger students known to be at risk of death with impunity,” attorney Jeffrey Beeler wrote in court documents. Beeler declined comment and said Nguyen’s family didn’t want to speak to the media.

MIT says it wasn’t aware of the severity of his condition and he was treated by outside professionals and refused on-campus resources.

MIT, which refused to answer questions, said in a statement it is committed to the well-being of its students and offers a network of support resources.

l court judge ruled in 2005 that an MIT housemaster and dean could be held responsible for the death of a woman who lit herself on fire in her dorm room. But Elizabeth Shin’s case, which was later settled for an undisclosed amount, never reached the state’s highest court.