Yale University Settles Wrongful Death Lawsuit In Murder Of Graduate Student For $3 Million

The family of a murdered Yale University graduate student has settled a wrongful death lawsuit against the Connecticut school for $3 million.

The family of Annie Le filed the lawsuit in 2011. The case was supposed to go to trial in October, but it was postponed. The two sides settled the case in November for $3 million. In the lawsuit the family claimed the university had, for years, failed to adequately provide protection for women on campus.

The 24-year-old’s body was found stuffed in a wall in the basement of a Yale laboratory building in 2009, four days after she disappeared. Her remains were found on what was supposed to be her wedding day. She had been sexually assaulted, severely beaten and strangled. She suffered many broken bones in the violent attack, according to a medical examiner’s report. Raymond Clark III, an animal research technician who worked in the same building, pleaded guilty to murdering Le and was sentenced to 44 years in prison.

According to the lawsuit, the New Haven school failed to “provide a safe and secure environment,” and university officials were negligent in hiring, retaining and supervising Clark who had “previously demonstrated aggressive behavior and a violent propensity towards women.” It also stated that the university failed to discipline offenders in myriad, well-documented instances of harassment against women and sexual attacks on campus.

However, Yale officials claimed additional security at the lab building, which required key card access, would not have prevented Clark from murdering Le.

Although Yale did not make the 2015 list of top 10 large universities for campus crime, many other big-name school were included. The report studied four-year institutions with enrollments greater than 20,000. It found the majority of violent crimes on campus were forcible sex offenses. The top 10 schools were:

1. University of Illinois at Chicago

2. University of California at Berkeley

3. Illinois State University

4. Harvard University

5. University of Hawaii at Manoa

6. Pennsylvania State University

7. University of Virginia

8 Northern Arizona University

9. University of Southern California

10. University of Michigan

However, even universities that are trying to be responsive to complaints of sexual assault are still finding their schools bogged down in legal quagmires as the accused are now filing suit. At least 75 men have sued their schools since 2013, complaining largely of reverse discrimination and unfair disciplinary proceedings in response to charges of sexual misconduct against them.

If you have been harmed by negligence on the part of an employer, or if a loved one has died, you may be entitled to compensation. Call the offices of trial attorneys Charles Gilman and Briggs Bedigian at 800-529-6162 or contact them online. The firm handles cases in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C.