Kent State University this month settled a lawsuit with a student who was injured when she tripped on the way to her dormitory mail room in hopes of receiving a package of Irish soda bread sent by her mother.

On March 17, 2023, Maeve Grennan had permission to leave her part-time job at the university’s Student Recreation and Wellness Center to hurry to the mail room before it closed at 8 p.m. It was Grennan’s last chance before the weekend to pick up the expected package from her mom to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

Grennan wanted to pick up the bread “on the evening in question in order to consume it before it spoiled,” her lawsuit against the university stated. Grennan maintained she was walking briskly, and the lighting near her residence was dim. As she approached the main entrance to the building complex, she tripped and fell over a rope or wire that was connected between two benches, about one foot off the ground.

Grennan fractured her elbow when she hit the pavement, and she suffered other injuries. The fracture required surgery, which included placing a plate and seven screws in her arm. Grennan alleged the injury caused her schoolwork to suffer during the rest of the Spring 2023 semester, and she had to give up her job at the wellness center.

Student Sues School
Grennan filed a lawsuit against Kent State and the State of Ohio in the Ohio Court of Claims. She claimed the university was negligent because it created a hazard by connecting two benches in a major pedestrian area with wire or rope that was low to the ground.

The Court of Claims approved a $50,000 settlement between the parties earlier this month on May 3. The settlement indicated the parties might not agree on Grennan’s account of the incident.

“It is understood by the parties that the facts upon which this agreement and release is made may prove to be other than or different than the facts now known by either of them or believed by either of them to be true,” the settlement stated.

The settlement noted that Grennan understands the agreement is a compromise of disputed claims, and payment by the university is not an admission that Kent State was at fault.

Maeve Grennan v. Kent State University, 2024-00047JD

To access information on this case, visit the Court of Claims website.

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