LOS ANGELES – A UCLA student who was stabbed by her mentally ill classmate in a chemistry lab on Oct. 8, 2009, has filed a lawsuit against the University of California regents and her attacker. Katherine Rosen claims faculty and university administers were aware of Damon Thompson’s violent tendencies but did not take the necessary steps to protect her.
Rosen had her throat slashed and was stabbed multiple times by Thompson in an unprovoked attack. The incident left her with scars and nerve damage that makes using her left hand and arm difficult, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The civil suit, which is scheduled for a hearing in March, alleges that Thompson had demonstrated paranoid, erratic and dangerous behavior for months before the attack – on several occasions he even threatened professors. Administrators, however, did not inform students of Thompson’s aggressive behavior.
Officials at UCLA say that Thompson’s outburst could not have been foreseen. They say the university cannot be held responsible for Thompson’s behavior, as he is not an employee.
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