Alaska Supreme Court affirms dismissal of blind student's negligence suit against university

A blind student sued a university for negligence after falling from a campus balcony he says he mistook for a bench or bike rack. The Alaska Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's dismissal, finding no legal requirement that the university provide additional warnings in the circumstances described.

According to the account in the record, the student was retracing a path previously taken with another student to find a dining entrance when his mobility cane contacted a metal-sounding object at the balcony's edge. He climbed over what he believed was a bench or bike rack and fell.

The student argued the university failed to give reasonable warnings about the balcony and the guardrail. The university responded that it was not responsible for risks the student created by his own conduct. The trial court ruled for the university and dismissed the case; the student appealed.

The Alaska Supreme Court agreed with the trial court. The court explained the Americans with Disabilities Act is intended to prevent discrimination but does not establish specific safety rules for every possible physical hazard, and it observed that the plaintiff had not pointed to any law that would have required additional warnings about the guardrail in these facts. The court also relied on binding case law applying the created-risk doctrine, under which a person generally cannot recover from others for harm resulting from risks they themselves created.

Because the court concluded the student had been injured by a risk he created and no statutory duty to warn applied, it affirmed dismissal of the lawsuit. The opinion does not record additional remedies or further procedural relief in the excerpt provided.