BENNINGTON, Vt. (AP) – The Connecticut woman who survived a fall from a Bennington College dance studio window is suing the college.

Laura Jawitz, 19, of New Haven, Conn., and Kelly Muzzi, 20, of Troy, Mich., had been rehearsing in the studio at the college on March 30 when they leaned on a plate glass window and broke through, falling about 20 feet to a brick patio below.

Muzzi died and Jawitz was injured severely. She has since been convalescing at the home of a friend in Old Lyme, Conn., said Michael Stratton, Jawitz’s lawyer from New Haven.

Jawitz sued Thursday in U.S. District Court in New Haven seeking damages in excess of $75,000 from Bennington College, which he alleged was responsible.

“Laura is still very much in the acute phase,” said Stratton. He said she has suffered fractures to her skull, hip and leg, and has a severely punctured lung.

Stratton said Friday that Jawitz has already accumulated medical bills that far exceed $75,000.

“Although a lawsuit sounds so terrible,” said Stratton, “it’s really just a way to start the insurance process.”

College President Elizabeth Coleman declined comment, citing the court case.

Assistant State Fire Marshal Michael Skaza inspected the dance studio where the accident happened and determined that the school hadn’t violated any building codes by not having safety glass installed in the window.

Dennis Muzzi, father of the woman who died, previously said he and his, wife Andrea Thorne, found little consolation in the state’s assessment of the college facilities.

Dennis Muzzi said the school has some responsibility and his family likely would sue, also.

Muzzi died from her injuries April 1 at Albany Medical Center. Jawitz was released from Yale-New Haven Hospital during the second week of April.

The state’s report said the school hadn’t violated any building codes because at the time the visual and performing arts center opened in 1974, federal rules didn’t require safety glass.

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Information from: Bennington Banner, http://www.benningtonbanner.com

AP-ES-04-23-05 1710EDT