Lawsuit Over Death on Study Abroad Program

My local paper has been a more consistent source of material than usual lately, this week discussing (may be behind a paywall soon) a lawsuit brought against a local entity, the Center for International Study, by a family whose son died on a program in Australia.

Matthew Ray Attwood, 20, of Exeter, N.H., bled to death Feb. 11, 2008, at La Trobe University, about 35 miles north of Melbourne. According to the lawsuit, he was found by a painting crew in a large puddle of blood next to a shattered plate glass window.

Attwood’s parents are seeking $2 million or more in damages, and are represented by Boston attorney Michael Lambert.

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“If Matthew had been found within a reasonable amount of time after he suffered his injury, the bleeding from the lacerated brachial artery could have been stopped and his life would have been saved,” the lawsuit states.

An autopsy measured Attwood’s blood-alcohol content at 0.13 at his time of death, according to the lawsuit.

–BC