Can I Sue My School??

Question

My new laptop was stolen from my school library when I left it in a study room to go to the bathroom. The person who stole the laptop was not a student in the school. in fact he was not a student at all which means he was trash-passing . On top of that the door he escaped the library with was an emergency door that was suppose to be secure.

And the question is Can I sue my school for that. And if I do sue my school can the school do anything to me to hurt me or my education in any way??? Please if any one know anything about this please let me know. thank you!

Answer 1

It is not appropriate to sue YOUR educational institution. If you want to sue, you can. But it is better to transfer to another school after you win or lose. Or if you have courage, you can still stay.
However, this is U.S. If you have ENOUGH money to consult with a lawyer and bring this matter to court, you may do so. But after that not many schools would want you in their school. Yet again, you can sue those schools for refusing admission. If you have enough money, I suggest you to buy a new notebook and a good warranty.
Did your notebook has a warranty? If so, contact them and explain the matter. Maybe they will reimburse if you provide proper evidence.
In almost all of the libraries have a sign that reads "library is not responsible for materials left unattended. " If your library didn't have that, your chances of winning may be better. Look also, into school and student's manual. You can induce a city fine on the library b/c of the emergency exit door. You have to report it through the proper channel.
If you found out who the theif was, does that mean you got your notebook back? I am just curious.
Also, next time you go to toilet, ask the person who sits near you to watch your belongings.

Answer 2

I don't think you can sue your school. You left the computer unattended, and that was your fault. The emergency doors have to be able to be opened from the inside due to the fire codes, so that is not going to do anything to help your "case".

Did you insure your laptop? If you did, then it would be covered for theft, and you would get some money for a new one. If you didn't then it is your loss. But that is the reason you should never leave something worth $1,000 laying around for just anyone to take.

Lesson learned. . .

Answer 3

Unfortunately, I don't think you can sue the school for you leaving your laptop out in the open. Anybody could have stolen your computer whether trespasser or not. Although, I know how you feel and I think the best thing to do is talk to the school administration and a lawyer just to see if you have some thing to go on my dear. I don't think they can retaliate against you but that's where a good lawyer would come in.

Happy New Year!

Answer 4

No. Definitely not. First, it was your property to take care of. Second, it wasn't your school's fault/ your school didn't steal it. A PERSON stole it. Third, the law says that when you sue, you have to sue to a specific person/organization that commited the crime. Your school didn't commit a crime.

Emergency doors are not suppose to be secure or locked. They should never be locked from the inside, because if they were, it could pose as a serious obstacle in case of an emergency.

Under the law, your school did nothing wrong. Therefore, it is impossible to successfully sue them.

Answer 5

Well, i guess you can sue your school (if you have a lawyer) because they are suppose to have the emergency door alarm but i don't know if the school can do anything bad to your education.Also they are not responsible for your laptop being stolen,you shouldn't have brought your laptop to your school in the first place!Although i bet it would be fun to sue your school i mean like they deserve it cuz they teach to much LOL! (Meany's)!

Answer 6

You may be able to sue-if you know what the person looked like- the name of the person-etc. Or what you can try doing is contact your school & let them know what happened, they could help find the person, or give u a free laptop. If u do sue, there is no way that could hurt your education-since you are paying them to go to that school, it would also dicrimiating! -GOOD LUCK! :)

Answer 7

It sounds like a lot of work for a laptop that maybe was a couple grand. Think about how much you would be paying a lawyer and the time outside of class and outside of work. Hopefully you backed everything up. And schools might have a "not responsible for lost or stolen property" policy.

Answer 8

You can sue the school, but you won't win. The school holds no responsibility for your personal belongings while on their property, with the exception of disasters that are within their control (for example, a flood caused by a leak in the dorm bathroom destroys your laptop). Of course suing them will hurt your education; they will probably ask that you leave the institution; you'll have a big black mark next to your name (good luck getting accepted anywhere else).

Answer 9

First of all you should never leave your personal belongings just laying around no matter where you are. Another, if your school already has a policy of not assuming responbility for lost or stolen items just because you left them somewhere, then you really can't sue them. As far as trespassing goes, not trash-passing, how are you going to prove it?

Answer 10

Complain to your administration and provide all the evidence you can. You don't want them to say "We're not responsible for lost or stolen articles". With that being said, if that sort of rule does NOT apply in your school / the part of the school you were in at the time, then they ARE held responsible.

It would PROBABLY be on the grounds to sue.