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Elizabeth Shin (1980 - April 14, 2000) was an MIT student who died from burns inflicted by a fire in her dormitory room. Her death led to a lawsuit against MIT and controversy as to whether MIT paid adequate attention to its students' mental and emotional health, and whether MIT's suicide rate was abnormally high. Although her death was first thought to be a suicide, both MIT and her parents have stated that it may have been an accident; specific evidence to this effect has not been produced, but was integral to the amicable settlement between MIT and the Shins. From http://graphics. ...
1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...
April 14 is the 104th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (105th in leap years). ...
This article is about the year 2000. ...
Mapúa Institute of Technology (MIT, MapúaTech or simply Mapúa) is a private, non-sectarian, Filipino tertiary institute located in Intramuros, Manila. ...
On April 10, 2000, a student named Andrew Thomas heard a smoke alarm in Elizabeth's dorm room. Although the door was locked, Andrew could smell smoke and could hear crying coming from within the room. When MIT police broke down the door, they saw Elizabeth "engulfed in flames, flailing on the floor in the middle of her room." [1] Her body was 65% covered in third-degree burns and she died several days later. In medicine, a burn is a type of injury to the skin caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, or radiation (an example of the latter is sunburn). ...
In their lawsuit, Shin's family alleged that despite numerous warning signs, such as emails to faculty members that she was depressed and wanted to kill herself, she received minimal attention. MIT counseling services sometimes relegated duty to her parents, discharged her with minimal treatment, or failed to take action in response to her emails [2]. E-mail, or email, is short for electronic mail and is a method of composing, sending, and receiving messages over electronic communication systems. ...
After the incident, MIT announced an upgrade of its student counseling programs, including more staff members and longer hours. However, the Shins claimed these measures were not enough and filed a $27.65 million lawsuit against MIT, administrators, campus police officers, and its mental health employees. MIT and campus police officers were cleared of wrongdoing in June of 2005, but the case against MIT administrators and mental health employees continued [3]. The Shins' lawyer David Deluca commented that that the counts against MIT might have been limited by the “immunity that the institution enjoys” as an educational institution [4].
MIT continued to deny wrongdoing. According to MIT's lawyer Jeffrey Swopes, "The death of Elizabeth Shin was a tragedy -- for this bright young woman, her family and friends, and all those at MIT who tried to help her... But it was not the fault of MIT or anyone who works at MIT." [5].
On April 3, 2006 MIT announced that the case with the family of Elizabeth Shin had been settled before trial for an undisclosed amount [6]. Through MIT, the Shins released a statement, saying, "We appreciate MIT's willingness to spare our family the ordeal of a trial and have come to understand that our daughter's death was likely a tragic accident. This agreement will allow us to move forward in the healing process." April 3 is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 272 days remaining. ...
2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
The Shins' lawyer stated that the results of a toxicology test indicated that Elizabeth had overdosed on a nonprescription medication prior to the fire that could have prevented her from responding appropriately to its outbreak. This evidence may have led to the Shins' later admission that Elizabeth's death was an accident [7].
Shin's death was the tenth apparent suicide at MIT since 1990 [8], provoking controversy as to whether MIT's suicide rate is abnormally high. It is indeed higher than the national average, although some at MIT have argued that the numbers are not statistically significant due to small sample size.
MIT Statement
MIT Chancellor Phillip Clay announced the trial settlement with this message to the community on April 3, 2006: April 3 is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 272 days remaining. ...
2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
To Members of the MIT Community:
As most of you know, the family of Elizabeth Shin had brought a lawsuit against MIT and some members of the student life staff and medical staff following the death of their daughter in April 2000. The suit against the university itself was dismissed in June 2005 and a trial date for the remaining claims was set for May 1, 2006.
With the trial date approaching, Elizabeth's parents, Cho and Kisuk Shin, have agreed in a settlement with MIT to dismiss all of their claims, saying that they have come to understand that their daughter's death was likely a tragic accident.
We know nothing can erase the pain of losing their daughter. Elizabeth's death was a tragedy for her family, her friends and all those at MIT who tried to help her. Indeed, the death of a student is one of the most painful losses a college community can suffer.
We are very grateful to our colleagues in Student Life and MIT Medical who devote themselves to the well-being of our students with an extraordinary level of caring and professionalism. This agreement will spare all of them the further distress of an emotional trial.
Sincerely,
Phillip L. Clay
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