In April 2023, Sarah Cox’s life changed drastically. She had just returned from a mission trip to share her passion for helping others when she decided to attend a sorority party hosted by Maggie Scales, the president of the sorority at the time.
PEOPLE reports that there were about 30 people at the party, and Cox was in the kitchen with her friends when a horrible tragedy happened. Cox fell out of the second story window, falling 20 feet to the driveway below.
Cox survived the fall, but she has needed 24/7 care ever since. She is currently in a pediatric nursing home.
Her brother, Syed Ali, started a GoFundMe to help his parents pay for his sister’s medical expenses. On the fundraiser site, he explained, “As her brother I will be forwarding all funds to my parents as they will help pay for her medical expenses, her long term rehabilitation and let them focus on taking care of her.”
He also shared that she had been going to school at Northeastern university in Boston, and she was hoping to one day become a doctor so she could help other people. He is hopeful that she will one day be able to achieve her goal, but as of an update in December 2023, Cox was in Pediatric Rehab undergoing “intensive and specialized therapies.”
Now, in 2024, Cox’s parents are suing the sorority, the Phi Omega Chapter of Alpha Epsilon Phi, as well as the management company of the apartment where Cox fell from the window, Ramos Properties II. Other defendants include Scales and Marcia Ramos, the property manager at Ramos Properties II.
According to the court documents, Scales apartment was used as the sorority house for Alpha Epsilon Phi. The party on the night of Cox’s fall included at least 30 people, some of which were members of the sorority while others were guests. The documents describe Cox’s injuries as “catastrophic and permanent.”
The lawsuit claims that the property management company and the sorority “had a duty to manage the Property to keep it safe for those lawfully within from any dangerous uses and conditions.”
The lawsuit holds Ramos responsible for renting apartments to college students because she should have know that would “lead to parties that could foreseeably result in more people being present in the apartment than it could safely accommodate at one time.” The lawsuit also claims Ramos “knew or should have known that college students renting this apartment would engage in drinking alcohol during parties” which combined with an overcrowded apartment could create a dangerous situation.
In addition, the lawsuit claims that Ramos “knew or should have known that the windows in the Property were installed so low that a person could easily fall out of them.” The lawsuit claims that Ramos should have taken precautions to secure the windows so that nobody could fall out of them, and she should have warned tenants of the dangers the windows presented, and in turn, Scales, as the tenant, should have warned any guests about the dangers of the windows.
Reportedly, Cox’s family is seeking over $10 million.
Watch the video below to learn more about Cox’s tragic accident and the lawsuit against the sorority.