Whittel & Melton, LLC issued the following announcement on July 21.
Two former University of Miami football players avoided jail time after accusations that they raped an intoxicated female student in a dorm room on the Coral Gables campus.
Now the victim has filed suit against the University of Miami in Miami-Dade Circuit Court alleging the school failed to protect a minor student athlete, coming to the university for the first time, from sexual assault on its Coral Gables campus.
She was 17 at the time and had come to UM to play soccer.
The 2014 incident, involving two of UM’s ex-linebackers — who were 20 and 19 at the time and immediately kicked off the team and expelled from the school — was resolved when both agreed to enter a pretrial diversion program for first-time offenders, undergo sex-offender treatment classes and complete 100 hours of community service.
She is seeking damages “far in excess” of $15,000, according to the suit.
The lawsuit lists 15 instances in which UM failed her.
Among them:
Negligently allowing minors into a dormitory where there are not protections from other students, particularly other students who the University of Miami knows or should have known had “violate tendencies.”
Negligently allowing minors into a dormitory where there was “no meaningful guarding” from being brought back into the dorm in an impaired state by two student athletes.
Failing to have adequate security measures and policies in effect which would prevent a sexual assault and rape in a University of Miami dormitory.
As a victim of a crime that the government elects to avoid prosecution, you have options for seeking damages. Our South Florida Injury Attorneys at Whittel & Melton are dedicated to obtaining justice for people harmed by the intentional acts or negligence of others. We do this by forcing institutions to take responsibility for their carelessness by obtaining compensation for victims and making them change the way they operate. This helps the victim get started on their own recovery and prevents others from being victimized in the future.
We offer free consultations. We can help you achieve some sense of accountability and recover the financial compensation you need for medical care and counseling, lost earnings, and pain and suffering.
Original source can be found here.