Fraternity Hazing Leads to Civil Lawsuit
A pledge of the undergraduate chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity at Florida A&M University, has filed a civil lawsuit against the five fraternity members he accused of causing him bodily harm. Michael Morton, Jason Harris, Brian Bowman, Marcus Hughes and Cory Gray were all named in Jones' lawsuit, along with the Alpha Xi chapter and the regional and national offices of the fraternity. The lawsuit also lists the fictitious name John Doe to represent the owner of the warehouse where Jones was severely beaten, causing hemorrhaging and requiring surgery.
The facts of this case reflect the terrible problems with hazing on college campuses.
Fortunately, in this case, the university demonstrated appropriate handling of the incident once it was brought to their attention. The chapter involve has been suspended from the campus for an extended period.
The lawsuit will hopefully help prevent more misconduct and injury to other young people trying to join a fraternity. Jones' lawsuit claims that the local, regional and national branches of the fraternity failed to monitor activities of their members to ensure anti-hazing. Certainly, this should get the attention of those who can do something about this dangerous practice.
As Orlando injury lawyers, we applaud the many outstanding fraternities that have properly monitored their local chapters. If fraternity life is to be remain on college campuses, it is important to keep those members and those seeking to join-safe.
