Legal news for Texas wrongful death attorneys. The family of a deceased pledge accuses the fraternity of hazing.
Texas wrongful death attorneys alert- The Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at California Polytechnic State University are facing a wrongful death lawsuit.
Austin, TX—The family of a deceased California Polytechnic State University student and former Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) pledge filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the fraternity. The student died last year after binge drinking with his fraternity during a hazing ritual. The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday, September 22, 2009 in San Luis Obispo, California, as reported by Austin-American Statesman.
According to the lawsuit, on December 1, 2008, freshman Carson Starkey and the other SAE pledges were all given a bag filled with an alcoholic beverage at an off-campus site. The SAE brothers gave the pledges a 90-minute time limit in which they had to consume everything in the bag. Starkey was later found unresponsive, and was put in the car to be taken to a hospital, but after Starkey vomited, they took him home and put him into bed. A few hours later, Starkey was rushed to the Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center, where attending medical professionals pronounced him dead. An autopsy revealed that his blood alcohol level was five times over the legal driving limit, which was between 0.39 and 0.48. The blood alcohol level was the equivalent of surgical anesthesia.
The wrongful death lawsuit names the national Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity; the Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter located at California Polytechnic State University, and the nine SAE members who allegedly planned the hazing ritual. In May, four of the nine SAE brothers named in the wrongful death lawsuit were criminally charged by the San Luis Obispo County districts attorney’s office in connection with the pledges death. The lawsuit is seeking undisclosed damages. In addition, the lawsuit is seeking an injunction prohibiting SAE from conducting future hazing activities.
Legal News Reporter: Nicole Howley-Legal news for Texas wrongful death lawyers.