KENT, Ohio — Kent State University has reached a $50,000 settlement with a student who fractured her elbow after tripping over a low-hanging wire on campus while rushing to retrieve a St. Patrick’s Day package from her mother.
Maeve Grennan, a student worker at the university’s wellness center, was allegedly hurrying to the mailroom on March 17, 2023, to collect a loaf of Irish soda bread before it closed for the weekend. She claimed in her lawsuit that dim lighting and a wire connecting two benches, strung about a foot off the ground, caused her to trip and fall, resulting in a severe elbow fracture and other injuries.
The lawsuit states that Grennan had to undergo surgery, miss work, and struggle academically. She sued the university for negligence, claiming the wire posed an unnecessary hazard in a heavily trafficked area.
The settlement, approved by the Ohio Court of Claims earlier this month, includes a clause acknowledging potential discrepancies in the accounts of both parties regarding the incident’s details. It does not constitute an admission of fault by Kent State University.
