The Complete Guide to Hazing Lawsuits & Fraternity Accountability: What Every Point Comfort Family Needs to Know

Your Child Was Hazed in Texas: A Message from Attorney911 to Point Comfort Families

The call can come at any hour—your child, a student at the University of Houston, Texas A&M, or another Texas campus, is in the emergency room. Their urine is brown. They can’t stand without help. They’re mumbling about “pledge duties” and “not wanting to get the brothers in trouble.” As a parent in Point Comfort, you feel that geographic and emotional distance acutely. Your child is hours away in College Station or Houston, caught in a system you don’t understand, facing pressure from organizations with deep pockets and experienced lawyers.

Right now, in Harris County, we’re fighting one of the most serious hazing cases in Texas history. Leonel Bermudez, a University of Houston student, suffered rhabdomyolysis and acute kidney failure after enduring brutal hazing from the Pi Kappa Phi Beta Nu chapter. His urine turned brown. He was hospitalized for four days. The hazing included forced consumption of milk, hot dogs, and peppercorns until vomiting; “waterboarding” with a hose; a humiliating “pledge fanny pack” rule; and extreme physical workouts including 100+ push-ups and 500 squats under threat of expulsion. This is happening now at Texas universities, and Point Comfort families with students at UH, Texas A&M, UT Austin, SMU, Baylor, or other campuses need to know the reality of modern hazing and their legal rights.

This comprehensive guide is written specifically for parents and families in Point Comfort, Calhoun County, and across the Texas Coastal Bend who have children at Texas universities. We’ll explain what hazing really looks like in 2025, how Texas law protects your child, what we’ve learned from landmark national cases, and what’s happening at major Texas campuses. Most importantly, we’ll show you how experienced legal counsel can help your family seek accountability and prevent this from happening to another student.

IMMEDIATE HELP FOR HAZING EMERGENCIES:

If your child is in danger RIGHT NOW:

• Call 911 for medical emergencies
• Then call Attorney911: 1-888-ATTY-911 (1-888-288-9911)
• We provide immediate help—that’s why we’re the Legal Emergency Lawyers™

In the first 48 hours:

• Get medical attention immediately, even if the student insists they are “fine”
• Preserve evidence BEFORE it’s deleted:
  • Screenshot group chats, texts, DMs immediately
  • Photograph injuries from multiple angles
  • Save physical items (clothing, receipts, objects)
• Write down everything while memory is fresh (who, what, when, where)
• Do NOT:
  • Confront the fraternity/sorority
  • Sign anything from the university or insurance company
  • Post details on public social media
  • Let your child delete messages or “clean up” evidence

Contact an experienced hazing attorney within 24–48 hours:

• Evidence disappears fast (deleted group chats, destroyed evidence, coached witnesses)
• Universities move quickly to control the narrative
• We can help preserve evidence and protect your child’s rights
• Call 1-888-ATTY-911 for immediate consultation

Hazing in 2025: What It Really Looks Like

For Point Comfort families whose children attend Texas universities, understanding modern hazing requires moving beyond stereotypes. The dangerous “initiation” activities have evolved with technology and become more sophisticated at avoiding detection. Hazing today isn’t just about alcohol—it’s about control, humiliation, and dangerous power dynamics that can cause permanent physical and psychological harm.

Clear, Modern Definition of Hazing

Under Texas law, hazing means any intentional, knowing, or reckless act, on or off campus, by one person alone or with others, directed against a student that endangers mental or physical health or safety for purposes of pledging, initiation, affiliation, holding office, or maintaining membership in any organization.

In plain English: If someone makes your child do something dangerous, harmful, or degrading to join or stay in a group, and they meant to do it or were reckless about the risk, that’s hazing under Texas law. The location doesn’t matter—it can happen at the Pi Kappa Phi house at UH, an off-campus apartment near Texas A&M, or a retreat center hours from campus. Most importantly, “consent” is not a defense in Texas. Even if your child “agreed,” it’s still hazing if it meets the legal definition.

Main Categories of Modern Hazing

Alcohol and Substance Hazing:

• Forced or coerced drinking games like “Big/Little” nights, “family tree” rituals, or “lineup” drinking
• Chugging challenges with hard liquor or beer
• Being pressured to consume unknown substances or dangerous mixtures
• The Leonel Bermudez case at UH involved forced consumption of milk, hot dogs, and peppercorns until vomiting

Physical Hazing:

• Extreme calisthenics far beyond normal conditioning (like the 100+ push-ups and 500 squats in the UH case)
• Paddling, beatings, or physical abuse
• Sleep deprivation through late-night “meetings” or early-morning workouts
• Food/water restriction or forced consumption
• Exposure to extreme elements (in the UH case, being sprayed with a hose “similar to waterboarding”)

Psychological and Digital Hazing:

• Verbal abuse, threats, and intimidation
• Social isolation from non-members
• Public humiliation via social media or group chats
• Required “pledge fanny packs” with humiliating contents (like in the UH case with condoms, sex toys, nicotine devices)
• 24/7 digital control through GroupMe, WhatsApp, or Discord with immediate response demands
• Geographic tracking via Find My Friends or Snapchat Maps

Sexualized and Humiliating Hazing:

• Forced nudity or partial nudity
• Simulated sexual acts or degrading positions
• Acts with racial, sexist, or homophobic overtones
• Being forced to lie in vomit-soaked grass (as alleged in the UH case)

Where Hazing Happens Beyond Stereotypes

While fraternities receive significant attention, hazing occurs across campus organizations that Point Comfort students join:

• Fraternities and Sororities (IFC, Panhellenic, NPHC, multicultural groups)
• Corps of Cadets and ROTC programs (particularly relevant for Texas A&M families)
• Athletic Teams (from football to cheerleading)
• Spirit Organizations (Texas Cowboys, cheer teams, dance teams)
• Marching Bands and performance groups
• Academic and Service Organizations

The common thread across all these groups is power imbalance, tradition justification, and secrecy. Organizations often defend hazing as “bonding” or “tradition,” but Texas law recognizes these power dynamics create coercion, not consent.

Texas Hazing Law & Liability Framework: What Calhoun County Families Need to Know

Texas has specific laws governing hazing, and understanding them is crucial for Point Comfort families seeking accountability. These laws operate alongside federal regulations and create multiple avenues for both criminal