The family of a troubled Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) student who committed suicide in April 2000 has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the university. Attorneys representing the parents of Elizabeth Shin, 19, who died after lighting herself on fire, claim MIT's health services division failed to "properly address" the youth's mental troubles.

Shin, who had allegedly threatened suicide numerous times, received treatment from university counselors for a year before her death. MIT administrators released a report last summer calling for changes in the school's health services division. Twelve MIT students have committed suicide since 1990.