Carley Madsen no longer attending Chapman

Carley Madsen, a Chapman student who was injured in a three-story fall in the Musco Center for the Arts last April, is no longer attending classes at the university, according to her Facebook page. Madsen is currently enrolled at West Valley Community College in Saratoga, California.

A GoFundMe page set up to cover the cost of Madsen’s medical procedures is still receiving donations, as of Sept. 3. The page had a goal of $25,000, which has been far surpassed, as donors have helped raise $27,540 for her facial reconstruction surgery. Although the surgery happened in May, according to the GoFundMe, donations are still coming in.

Madsen sustained a brain injury as well as extensive facial fractures and a broken arm. Although Madsen is “past any life-threatening injuries,” she may require further reconstructive surgeries, according to a CaringBridge page managed by her parents and sister in order to update friends and family about Madsen’s condition.

Madsen was at the Musco Center during a performance of “The Merchant of Venice” when she fell April 23.

Carly Madsen

“My understanding is that she was attending a performance, and she was there with her boyfriend,” said Harold Hewitt, executive vice president and chief operating officer. “What happened after that, I’m honestly not sure. One thing that I heard was that they were exploring the (Musco) Center, and they got themselves in a location that they couldn’t (get out of) because the door was shut.”

Randy Burba, chief of Public Safety, was on vacation last week, returning Sept. 12, and could not be immediately reached to confirm the events leading up to Madsen’s fall.

However, Hewitt confirmed that all building and construction permits were in place, and that the entire building was up to code at the time of the accident.

“We’re very disciplined about making sure we at least have the temporary certificate of occupancy before we allow the public to be involved in a building that’s new,” Hewitt said.

Hewitt also said that he was not aware of any lawsuits related to the incident currently pending against Chapman.

However, Hewitt said that the university continues to take steps to ensure that similar incidents will not occur in the future.

“Anytime we open a new building, especially something that’s a complicated structure, anytime there’s an unfortunate and tragic incident like this – our facilities management team takes that very seriously,” Hewitt said.

“They work directly with the Public Safety department to make sure that signs are clear, that doors lock and are only accessible to trained staff members who are safe to be in that area.”

Neither Carley Madsen nor Megan Madsen responded to The Panther’s multiple requests for comment.