By Stephanie Barnes
In the fall of 2024, Kaitlyn “Katie” Watt was seriously injured when an unsecured portable bench shelter at Bates College became airborne and struck her. Miss Watt alleges that Bates College failed to exercise reasonable care in securing the bench shelter, thereby demonstrating negligence. Miss Watt contends that the college’s lack of proper safety measures directly contributed to her life-changing injuries.
Background
During the summer of 2024, as part of the reconstruction of the Russell Street Track and Field Complex, Bates College installed two portable athletic structures at the track (Watt v. Bates College, 2025). These 18-foot-long, 597-pound Kwick Goal bench shelters provide athletes protection from the inclement weather. However, instructions clearly state that each structure “must be anchored at all times” and stored in a “secure, sheltered area” during high winds (Watt v. Bates College, 2025, p. 2). The instructions further specify that the anchoring process must include either burying concrete footings or using a concrete-and-steel anchor system. According to the complaint, Bates College neither anchored the Kwik benches nor securely stored them.
On the morning of October 12, 2024, winds were forecasted to reach 20 mph, which, by sunrise, ultimately exceeded 35 mph (Giden Asen, 2025). Due to the strong winds, at approximately 8:30 am, one of the shelters blew across the field and ultimately landed at the opposite end of the track. The complaint alleges that, despite this occurrence, Bates College failed to secure the structure, close the facility, or issue a warning to the student body (Gideon Asen, 2025).
On the same morning, shortly after the shelter blew across the track, Watt, a student and Captain of the Nordic ski team, along with her skiing teammates, arrived at Bates College as part of their off-season training (Watt v. Bates College, 2025). After a few warm-up laps, the same shelter went airborne again, struck Miss Watt, and pinned her down on the surface of the track. Rushing to her side, Katie’s teammates found her disoriented and barely responsive. Emergency services transported her to Central Maine Medical Center, where she was then transported by LifeFlight to Maine Medical Center for emergency neurological treatment.
Result
Watt alleges she suffered a skull fracture and bleeding from the brain, resulting in a traumatic brain injury (Watt v. Bates College, 2025). She claims to have experienced life-changing symptoms and complications, including cognitive impairment, emotional disturbance, headaches, and neurological deficits.
The complaint alleges a single count of negligence and an additional count of premises liability (Watt v. Bates College, 2025). The negligence claim asserts that the defendant failed to exercise reasonable care, resulting in harm to the plaintiff. Concurrently, the premises liability claim contends that the defendant, as the property owner, failed to maintain adequate safety standards, resulting in an unsafe condition that caused the plaintiff’s injury.
To demonstrate negligence, four key elements must be established: duty, breach, cause, and harm. The most crucial element is proving that the loss or injury is directly caused by the defendant; this is known as proximate cause (Dygert, 2024). Simply put, it must be proven that the injury would not have happened without the negligent actions of the defendant.
Bates’ Response
Although the plaintiff contends that her situation was “swept under the rug” (Chiu, 2025, p. 6), Bates College responded to a People Magazine request, stating that it acknowledge that the accident occurred on its campus and maintain that it provided support during and after the incident. The spokesperson also stated that, despite the incident, Bates was pleased that Katie graduated on time and with honors.
Furthermore, Bates congratulated Miss Watt on her new research career. It is important to note that upon graduation, Katie Watt was offered and accepted a full-time research position at the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital (Chiu, 2025). Per Ms. Watt’s LinkedIn profile, she is currently the “Research Assistant at Mass General Hospital” (Katie Watt, n.d.). The profile indicates that she began her research position in June 2025.
Update
A lawsuit was filed on December 16, 2025. Watt v. Bates College argues that Ms. Watt’s injuries were “a direct and forseeable results of Bates’ failure to secure the shelter” (Gideon Asen, 2025). The complaint requests a jury trial and includes one count of negligence. It seeks compensation for emotional distress, medical expenses, and loss of enjoyment of life, as well as other damages to be determined by the jury.
References
Chiu, D. (2025, December 19). Woman remembers thinking “I don’t want to die” when 600-lb. structure allegedly flew into her during run. now she’s suing. People.com. https://people.com/woman-remembers-thinking-i-dont-want-to-die-when-600-lb-structure-allegedly-flew-into-her-now-suing-11869879
Dygert, T. (2024, July 9). FSB wins appeal on statute or ordinance rule. Ferguson, Schetelich, Ballew, P.A. https://fsb-law.com/litigation/fsb-wins-appeal-on-statute-or-ordinance-rule/
Gideon Asen (2025, December 16). Lawsuit against Bates College after student-athlete TBI. https://www.gideonasen.com/blog/lawsuit-filed-against-bates-college-after-student-athlete-suffers-traumatic-brain-injury
Katie Watt. (n.d.). Kaite Watt [LinkedIn page]. LinkedIn. Retrieved January 15, 2026. https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-watt-2b0155286/
Watt v. Bates College, No. [Docket Number] (Me. Super. Ct. filed Dec. 16, 2025)
