A loose ceiling tile in Burk Hall has cost the California State University system almost $1 million.
The personal injury settlement resulted from a January 1991 incident when a 2-by-2 foot tile fell about 15 to 20 feet from the auditorium ceiling and hit Adrianne Lahorgue on the head, according to the complaint filed in San Francisco Superior Court in 1992. The CSU system reached an out
-of-court settlement with the former Redding teacher and paid her $850,000 last November, CSU Spokesperson Colleen Bentley-Adler said.
Lahorgue was at SF State to attend a teachers conference in room 117 in Burk Hall when the incident occurred.
According to the complaint, "(SF State) failed to take steps to correct the dangerous condition or to warn the plaintiff of the dangerous condition," of defective ceiling tiles.
Robert Simpson, Lahorgue's attorney, said he was prepared to take the case to trial but his client wanted to settle quickly out of court. Simpson said the juddgement could have been larger if it was taken to trial.
The ceiling tile caused some bleeding in her brain which resulted in permanent brain damage, Simpson said.
"She went from being a very functional and very popular teacher to a non-functional teacher," Simpson said.
According to Simpson, Lahorgue was no longer able to work as a kindergarten teacher in Redding because of the injury.
The blow to her head also interfered with the part of the brain that controls emotion, Simpson said.
"She'll be happy one moment, tearful the next," he said.
Since Lahorgue has also lost the ability to manage money she will receive the settlement in monthly installments, Simpson said.
Several attempts to reach Lahorgue for comment were unsuccessful.
Although SF State University Counsel Patty Bartscher would not comment on Lahorgue's case, she said it's generally less expensive to settle a case out of court when the plaintiff has a strong case.
"The state and SF State do not have deep pockets," Bartscher said. "We examine all claims very vigorously."
Currently, Burk Hall is undergoing renovations, Director of Plant Operations Robert Hutson said.
"It's a top priority to get the ceiling repaired," Hutson said. "We are addressing the problem campus-wide as fast as we can."
Manager of Facilities Program Stephen Noetzel said the university has been aware of the falling ceiling tiles since 1988.
He said students and faculty could still be hit by falling tile in campus buildings. Falling tiles are still a problem in the Business, Science and Humanities and Social Science Buildings, Noetzel said.
"We are managing the problem but there are still ceiling tiles that fall on occasion," Noetzel said.
There is no money for deferred maintenance to fix falling tiles in those buildings, Noetzel said. Repairing all the ceiling tiles in buildings would be too expensive and take too long.
According to Noetzel, a building maintenance team checks on loose tiles in all buildings twice a year.
He said the university is still investigating why the glue comes off and causes the tiles to fall. He added that it might be because of moisture.
Tiles are composed of an "acoustical pressed cardboard material," Noetzel said and weigh about one and a half pounds. Simpson estimated that the tile that injured his client weighed about 4 pounds.
A similar incident involving falling ceiling tiles occurred in 1989, when an SF State student was injured in Burk Hall.
According to her injury claim report filed with California's State Board of Control in May 1990, Tiffany Hall was sitting on a chair waiting for class to begin when a 3-by-2 foot ceiling tile fell and hit her on the head.
"The blow to the claimant's head caused her to lose consciousness, hear voices, and black out," the report said. "(Hall) subsequently had speech problems, impaired vision, and dizziness."
Bartscher said Hall did not file suit or receive any money from SF State.