A Gannon University student, placed on life support after falling from a fraternity house balcony in April, was pronounced dead a few days after the accident. The engineering major, a junior, tumbled from the second-story balcony at the Alpha Phi Delta (his fraternity) house. From Butler County, his family kept the student on life support until his brother came home from a tour of duty to say "goodbye" to his sibling.

The demise of the well-liked former student at Portersville Christian School is another example of a wrongful death in Pennsylvania. Portersville Christian, a small school (around 200 students from kindergarten through 12th grade), is a tight knit institution that remembered the student most fondly for his infectious personality.

After a brief investigation, police are ruling that the student's death was an accident. While no criminal behavior was identified, there is always the possibility that negligence or wrongful death issues may appear in the future.

Gannon University, in Erie, Pennsylvania, is a respected Catholic institution of higher learning. They emphasize faith and community service as two primary tenets of their university. Gannon released an official statement expressing their condolences to the student's friends and family. The university also stated that experienced counselors are available to anyone in the college community who wanted assistance dealing with this tragedy.

Any death, wrongful or otherwise, is mournful. A young person suffering this fate, with a whole life hopefully ahead, is only more troubling. How do you feel about fatal accidents similar to this event?

Source: WTAE, "College Student Taken Off Life Support After Balcony Fall," April 15, 2012