Local News

Family of student seriously injured in fall sues Northeastern sorority

Sarah Cox fell out of a window on Judge Street in March of 2023. Now, she requires around-the-clock care "on a permanent basis."

August 26, 2024

2 minutes to read

The family of a Northeastern University student who suffered “catastrophic” injuries when she fell out of a sorority house window is suing her sorority and the building property manager for more than $10 million.

Sarah Cox, a then-junior and member of Alpha Epsilon Phi Sorority, was at a gathering ahead of a formal sorority event on March 31, 2023, according to court documents filed in Suffolk Superior Court earlier this year.

The gathering, which the court documents classified as a party with thirty or more people, was open to members of the sorority and others. While in the kitchen in the second floor apartment on Judge Street, Cox fell out of a window onto the driveway. She fell 20 feet or more, the suit said.

“Sarah Cox’s injuries are catastrophic, and she will require one to one care 24 hours per day and 7 days per week on a permanent basis,” according to the family’s statement of damages filed in court.

Cox currently resides in a pediatric care facility, according to court documents. Her family shared on GoFundMe in December that they rented an apartment to be near the facility.

“She is the same sweet and cherished presence in our lives that she always has been,” her parents wrote. “This place offers intensive and specialized therapies that will inshallah (God be willing) expedite Sarah’s recovery. Our days and night(s) merge into a blur as we take care of our precious daughter.”

Too-low windows, overcrowded apartment, according to lawsuit

The lawsuit, which was first reported on by Northeastern student newspaper The Huntington News, alleges that the defendants were negligent when they let the house get too crowded and created dangerous conditions where people were drinking.

The suit claims Marcia Ramos, the manager of the property, and the property management company Ramos Properties II failed to keep the apartment safe.

Ramos “knew or should have known” the property was used as a sorority house with large gatherings with alcohol, and the lawsuit alleges that windows were installed “so low that a person could easily fall out of them.”

The suit also names Phi Omega, the Alpha Epsilon Phi chapter at NEU, and the national sorority. The suit alleges that the chapter “had a duty to ensure that their members prevent dangerous conditions” during events.

The former president of the sorority, Maggie Scales, is also named in the suit as the tenant. Another person “in control of the apartment” is listed as a defendant but is anonymous.

“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 said.

James Kelly, a lawyer for Cox’s family, said the lawsuit will face a motion to dismiss hearing in September. He did not comment on the case. The family is suing for $10,200,000 to cover to current and future medical expenses.

Lawyers for the sorority defendants and Ramos did not return a request for comment Monday.

The entire complaint is available here.