Bradley Ginsburg Suicide: Father Sues Cornell For $180 Million Dollars Over Son's Death

The father of Cornell student who committed suicide last year by jumping off a bridge near campus has filed a suit against the university asking for $180 million dollars in damages.

Howard Ginsburg, father of late student Bradley Ginsburg, alleged in his filing last week that the school should have taken more proactive measures to ensure the safety of the bridges, as well as letting parents know about the severity of the suicide problem at the school.

The Cornell Sun has more:

The suit says that the "campus area became known as an iconic spot for ending one's life" after 27 people jumped to their deaths from the bridges between 1990 and 2010.

The lawsuit alleges that Cornell and the city "were negligent, careless and reckless in failing to provide for safety and protection for vulnerable or impulsive individuals." It also names President David Skorton, Vice President for Student and Academic Services Susan Murphy '73, Gannett Director of Mental Health Initiatives Tim Marchell '82 and Gannett Associate Director Gregory Eells as defendants.

"I've equated this to leaving a loaded gun on the table," Ginsburg told the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel. "Cornell for years fought putting any kind of barriers on the bridges, for environmental reasons, the gorgeous views."

The lawsuit also contends that parents were not notified well enough of 2009 suicide cluster at the school. The lawsuit maintains that the university "substituted its corporate judgment for parent involvement."

Ginsburg states he was unaware that his son had any mental health trouble, stating that his suicide came "out of the blue."

In February 2010, 3 Cornell students, including Ginsburg, lost their lives to suicide.

Comments

[akrazyrunner]

08:35 PM on 12/01/2011

I didn't attend Cornell, but I visited there and I believe that bridge is actually called suicide bridge

[MrUnlimited]

12:16 PM on 12/20/2011

Well, some of us who DID attend Cornell believe (or actually, KNOW) that your characterization is incorrect.

[oodragus]

10:40 PM on 11/30/2011

FYI from local news just after his sons death
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/the-empty-room-boca-raton-family-searches-for-402075.html

[oodragus]

10:28 PM on 11/30/2011

I'm not sure if this has been reported yet but Howard Ginsburg (the father) graduated from Cornell and was an interviewer for applicants (with an exception of the year his son applied)

[JmartiBoz]

12:18 PM on 01/01/2012

So you're saying he worked with Cornell up until the year his son applied? Which would mean he knew about it or are you saying that he worked for Cornell before? I am pretty sure it didn't get its reputation as suicide bridge until late on so it's conceivable that if the father worked for Cornell during the 90s he may not have known about it... even still it's just as conceivable that, because he wasn't apart of the student body or apart of the group of important people in the administrative offices who deal with these issues head on, he might not have known about it either then too... I just applied to Cornell, I hope it's not the professors that are driving them mad... =o

[Rich914]

11:22 PM on 11/29/2011

Very sad. No merit to law suit though.

[serino924]

09:25 PM on 11/29/2011

To be quite honest as a student affairs professional at another university and having had experienced the loss of a number of students it has to be said that nothing would have stopped a determined individual. I know that its easy to put forth blame and perhaps Cornell should have put up a fence but there is always other means to an end. A fence would not have solved the suicide rates nor would shorter buildings or controlled hand guns or confiscated rope. The blame is shared amongst all parties involved. My heart goes out to this Dad in addition to the families of the 2 others who lost their lives.

[kll77]

08:53 PM on 11/29/2011

It's tragic that he lost his son, but how is taking $180 million from the school going to help?

He is basically screwing over thousands of other students, and taking away scholarships and grants, because he thinks money will somehow make his situation better? No, he's being greedy and ruining other people's dreams and futures so he can get rich. A real father wouldn't want that for other people's kids. He's only hurting the other students, and sorry but money won't bring his son back.

And Cornell has tons of resources to help with suicide prevention, so saying the school is neglectful isn't true at all. I'm sorry for his loss, but ruining other students' lives isn't the answer.

[davesocal818]

07:31 PM on 11/29/2011

I CAN'T FIND MY COMMENT THAT APPEARS YOU FAILED TO PUBLISH FOR WHATEVER REASON.....NO SWEARING AND NOT MUCH DIFFERENT THAN MANY OTHERS THAT WERE PUBLISHED BUT MAYBE A BIT "COLDER.".

No matter what suicide preventatives had been installed, (suicide barriers) if a jumper is determined enough, they will find a way to get around them. If the bridge was too difficult then the kid would have found another location, such as a cliff in the mountains or a building roof, to make his jump.
Sorry dad, to me it looks like your greed is showing by trying to make a buck from the stupidity of your kid. Also the greed of the attorney for accepting the case. I only hope that a Judge will throw the case out if it ever gets that far.
If by chance it should ever make it to a court of law and you should recover money, what are your plans: Opening an "Anti-Suicide" foundation in your sons name or purchase real estate?
Sorry for sounding so cold but if anyone can't see GREED here, then you belong someplace else. 180 Million? Why not round it off to 200 Million? Hell, make it 500 Mil..
If this had occurred in China, the government would have sent the old man a bill for having to clean up the mess..

[davesocal818]

08:06 PM on 11/29/2011

HP, thank you for publishing my comment.

[jonesengr]

01:56 PM on 11/29/2011

Another grieving parent. I can not understand the parents point of view. I suppose if the child died from peanut butter they would sue, or perhaps if he died from aids. It is always about someone else being to blame and not the parents. No one should have known that child better than the parents. Sometimes things happen.

[erbie]

01:00 PM on 11/29/2011

If my son was of an intelligent age and intelligent enough to go to Cornell. I would leave a loaded gun on the table in front of him, and just tell him it was loaded. The COLLEGE boy jumped off a bridge, committed suicide. That means no neglect on the part of the school if he wants to sue someone for neglect, have him go into the washroom and look in the mirror for that person, he sent his son to a school away from the watchful eye of a home, he was not intelligent enough to leave.

[glenler]

12:42 PM on 11/29/2011

What a scam this father is trying to profit by the tragic death of his son

[fem56]

12:19 PM on 11/29/2011

Poor father trying to make sense of the worst tragedy a parent can endure.

[OneFish]

09:09 PM on 11/29/2011

not cents, dollars.

[Stan Silver]

11:01 AM on 11/29/2011

Anyone who has lost a person close to them,especially if they are very young, will usually want to blame SOMEBODY for their loss.
It is always a tragic thing when young people end their life because there are no answers for the questions of loved ones left behind.Usually,those left behind have no idea this would ever happen.
But,it is absurd to think that University can know what is going through a students mind when even the parents dont.
I am sorry for your loss sir.I know the hurt.But your healing is not going to happen by filing a lawsuit.

[dferraez]

10:36 AM on 11/29/2011

Only a corrupt lawyer and a corrupt person would file such a suit......................try the Hot Coffee suit...............this is a take from the "rich" and give to the "poor" action..........by corrupt people of course

[propackage]

09:33 AM on 12/01/2011

I agree with what you are saying but the coffee one is possibly a bad example. From my understanding, the woman was handed a coffee at the drive in window of mcdonalds with the lid not attached correctly so when is was passed to her it opened up and burned her. At that point she only wanted the medical bill paid for which was around 1000 dollars at the local hospital. Mcdonalds refused, she got a lawyer and the rest is what we see.

[dferraez]

10:00 AM on 12/01/2011

Oops.........I was always told that the lid was on the coffee and while driving and moving her feet from accelator to brake it pushed the lid off...................so.........I am not sure which is right.............but I know 1 Million was not right either.

[propackage]

10:57 AM on 12/03/2011

Thanks for responding. I agree that 1 million dollars sounds like a lot of money but if you are a lawyer that works on contingency, there are two things to consider. The first is that I costs a great deal of money to bring something to trial. There are experts to be paid, reports to be made, traveling, rent and of course, regular payroll for the lawyer and the staff. Additionally, the litigants do not will all of the cases that they bring. The medical institution is not innocent here either. I am not totally familiar with this case but a week in the hospital, with grafts or other complications could cost over 100000 dollars today. In conclusion, it would have been much better to work things out than bring it to court.

[freerangevoter]

10:14 AM on 11/29/2011

Demand that we enforce common-sense Bridge Control laws!

With a deadbeat father like this guy the kid never had a chance.

If we had "Loser-Pay" rules as they do in England a clown like this would never file such an irresponsible lawsuit. Insurance, including medical, would cost a lot less if clowns like this would
stop expecting the world to provide them a living.

[exmate]

10:12 AM on 11/29/2011

For at least 50 years, Cornell students, who by all rights should have had a bright future, have have been been killing themselves in the same manner. I see a pattern here. Most people do not seem to.

To me it resembles a dangerous intersection that needs a traffic signal.

[JuliaSLM27]

10:29 AM on 11/29/2011

As a Cornell Alumna, I can tell you that there are very high barriers on the pedestrian bridges, and that the suicide rate is no higher than other universities. The issue is two-fold: 1. when people commit suicide in Ithaca, they tend to do so by jumping which is very public and visible and gets reported. Students elsewhere pop pills, OD, or drive a car into a tree. 2. There are over 12,000 undergraduate students, 18,000 overall, and over 30,000 staff, students, and community members associated with Cornell. Sheer statistics show that Cornell is not more prone to suicides than other top-league schools.

The University has always taken suicide seriously and does what it can to prevent. Now on the pedestrian bridges there are huge nets around the entire thing. But what do people do? They jump from a trail, they jump from an auto bridge, they jump from somewhere else. It's ridiculous that this father is blaming Cornell for his son's decision to end his life.

When I was a student, a promising ROTC student took his life after he thought he failed a final exam, which would mean he'd lose his ROTC scholarship. Two days later they found his body. The exam was curved - he had passed. People who commit suicide are not thinking clearly - they need help, not 360 degree nets on every bridge.

[freerangevoter]

11:59 AM on 11/29/2011

Terrific post. Fanned and faved.

[erbie]

01:08 PM on 11/29/2011

Well he failed the test anyway.

[erbie]

01:03 PM on 11/29/2011

It is in the water at Cornell. All this means is the people that send their kids there, have more money than responsibilty for a family, it is a place to get rid of the kid so you can go back to doing whatever you do to make all that money.