Court rules MIT can’t be held liable for student’s suicide

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts’ highest court has ruled that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology cannot be held responsible for the death of a graduate student who killed himself in 2009.

The Supreme Judicial Court sided with MIT on Monday in the closely-watched case that examined whether colleges and universities have a duty to protect students from harming themselves.

The family of 25-year-old Han Nguyen said in their lawsuit that the school knew Nguyen was a suicide risk and could have prevented his death.

But the high court said in its ruling that a school can only be held responsible when it either knows that a student has attempted suicide while enrolled or shortly before entering school or that the student had said he or she plans to kill themselves.