🛡️ Hazing Victims in Yankton County: Your Legal Rights & How Attorney 911 Can Help

If your child has been hazed at a college or university in Yankton County, South Dakota, you are not alone. The same fraternities, the same “traditions,” and the same institutional failures that hospitalized a student in Houston are happening right here in Yankton County. And Attorney 911 is ready to fight for you.

🚨 The Hazing Crisis in Yankton County: It’s Happening Here

Yankton County is home to Mount Marty University, a private Catholic institution with a growing student body. Like colleges nationwide, Mount Marty has fraternities and sororities, athletic teams, and student organizations where hazing is a persistent problem.

The same national fraternities involved in deadly hazing incidents across America have chapters near Yankton County:

• Pi Kappa Phi (the fraternity we’re currently suing for $10 million in Houston)
• Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE)
• Pi Kappa Alpha (Pike)
• Sigma Chi
• Kappa Sigma
• Phi Delta Theta

These organizations have paid millions in settlements for hazing deaths and injuries. And they operate right here in South Dakota.

What Hazing Looks Like in Yankton County

Hazing isn’t just “boys being boys” or “harmless traditions.” It’s abuse. It’s assault. And in Yankton County, it can include:

• Forced alcohol consumption (leading to alcohol poisoning)
• Extreme physical punishment (500 squats, 100 pushups, bear crawls until collapse)
• Waterboarding or simulated drowning (yes, this happens in Yankton County too)
• Sleep deprivation (forced late-night activities, early-morning driving)
• Psychological torture (humiliation, degradation, threats of expulsion)
• Forced eating until vomiting (then forced to continue activities)
• Being struck with wooden paddles or other objects
• Sexual humiliation (forced to carry sexual objects, nudity, sexual assault)

This isn’t tradition. This is torture.

🏥 The Medical Consequences: What Hazing Does to Your Child

Hazing doesn’t just leave emotional scars. It can cause life-threatening injuries, including:

• Rhabdomyolysis (muscle breakdown leading to kidney failure – the same injury our Houston client suffered)
• Acute kidney failure (requiring hospitalization, dialysis, or even transplant)
• Alcohol poisoning (can be fatal; BAC levels over 0.40 are common in hazing deaths)
• Traumatic brain injury (from falls, beatings, or lack of oxygen)
• Heat stroke or hypothermia (from forced exposure to extreme temperatures)
• Broken bones, internal bleeding, or organ damage (from physical abuse)
• PTSD, anxiety, and depression (long-term psychological trauma)

These injuries aren’t rare. They’re the direct result of a culture that prioritizes “tradition” over safety.

⚖️ Your Legal Rights in Yankton County

1. Hazing is Illegal in South Dakota

South Dakota has a felony hazing law (SDCL § 22-19A-1) that makes hazing a Class 1 misdemeanor (up to 1 year in jail and $2,000 fine). If hazing causes serious bodily injury or death, it becomes a Class 6 felony (up to 2 years in prison and $4,000 fine).

Key legal points:

• Consent is NOT a defense. Even if your child “agreed” to participate, the law still holds the perpetrators accountable.
• Universities can be held liable for failing to prevent hazing on their campuses.
• National fraternities/sororities can be sued for failing to supervise their chapters.

2. You Can Sue for Civil Damages

Even if criminal charges aren’t filed, you can file a civil lawsuit to hold the responsible parties accountable. This includes:

• The local fraternity/sorority chapter (for organizing and participating in hazing)
• The national fraternity/sorority organization (for failing to prevent hazing despite knowing the risks)
• The university (for failing to protect students, especially if they own the fraternity house)
• Individual members (for participating in or facilitating hazing)

What you can recover:

• Medical expenses (hospital bills, therapy, future treatment)
• Lost wages (if your child missed work or can’t work due to injuries)
• Pain and suffering (physical and emotional trauma)
• Punitive damages (to punish the defendants for egregious conduct)

💰 Precedent Cases: Hazing Victims Win Millions

Hazing lawsuits routinely result in multi-million-dollar settlements and verdicts. Here’s what other families have recovered:

These cases prove that hazing victims and their families CAN and DO win big. And we will fight for the same justice for Yankton County families.

🔍 Who Is Liable for Hazing in Yankton County?

When hazing happens, multiple parties can be held legally responsible:

1. The Local Chapter

• The fraternity/sorority members who organized and participated in hazing.
• The chapter president, pledgemaster, and other officers who directed the activities.

2. The National Organization

• National fraternities/sororities have millions in assets and insurance.
• They are responsible for supervising their chapters and preventing hazing.
• If they knew (or should have known) about hazing and failed to stop it, they can be sued.

3. The University (Mount Marty, USD, etc.)

• Premises liability: If the university owns the fraternity house (like UH did in our Houston case), they can be held liable for what happens there.
• Negligent supervision: Universities have a duty to protect students from known dangers. If they knew hazing was happening and did nothing, they can be sued.
• Failure to report: South Dakota law requires universities to report hazing incidents. If they covered it up, they can face additional penalties.

4. Individual Members & Alumni

• Every person who participated in, facilitated, or failed to stop hazing can be sued personally.
• Alumni who hosted hazing events at their homes can be held liable for premises liability.

📋 What to Do If Your Child Was Hazed in Yankton County

Step 1: Get Medical Help Immediately

• Go to the ER if your child is injured, vomiting, disoriented, or showing signs of rhabdomyolysis (dark urine, severe muscle pain).
• Document everything. Keep all medical records, bills, and photos of injuries.

Step 2: Preserve Evidence

• Save all communications (texts, GroupMe messages, Snapchats, emails) about hazing.
• Take screenshots of social media posts, photos, or videos related to the incident.
• Write down everything your child remembers (who was there, what happened, when it occurred).
• Get witness names (other pledges, bystanders, friends).

Step 3: Do NOT Talk to the Fraternity, University, or Their Lawyers

• Fraternities and universities will try to control the narrative.
• They may offer a quick settlement (which will be far less than you deserve).
• Anything you say can be used against you in a lawsuit.

Step 4: Contact Attorney 911 Immediately

• Call 1-888-ATTY-911 for a free, confidential consultation.
• We work on contingency – you pay nothing upfront. We only get paid if we win your case.
• We will travel to Yankton County for depositions, meetings, and trials.

🎯 Why Yankton County Families Choose Attorney 911

1. We Are Currently Fighting a $10 Million Hazing Lawsuit

• We represent Leonel Bermudez, a student hospitalized with kidney failure after Pi Kappa Phi hazing at the University of Houston.
• We know how to build these cases, gather evidence, and win.
• Yankton County families get the same aggressive representation we provide in Houston.

2. We Are Former Insurance Defense Attorneys

• We know how insurance companies think and how they try to minimize claims.
• We’ve seen their playbook – and now we use it against them for victims.

3. We Have Federal Court Authority

• We are admitted to U.S. District Court, so we can pursue hazing cases nationwide.
• We can sue national fraternities no matter where they’re headquartered.

4. We Offer Free, Remote Consultations for Yankton County Families

• You don’t have to travel to Houston. We offer video consultations so you can meet with us from home.
• We will come to Yankton County for depositions, meetings, and trials.

5. We Work on Contingency – You Pay Nothing Upfront

• No hourly fees. No retainers. No risk.
• We only get paid if we win your case.
• If we don’t win, you owe us nothing.

6. We Have a Proven Track Record of Multi-Million-Dollar Wins

• We’ve won millions for victims of car accidents, trucking crashes, and workplace injuries.
• We know how to maximize compensation for hazing victims.

📞 What to Do Next: Contact Attorney 911

If your child has been hazed in Yankton County, time is critical. Evidence disappears. Witnesses forget. Statutes of limitations expire.

Call us now for a free, confidential consultation:

📞 1-888-ATTY-911
📧 ralph@atty911.com
🌐 attorney911.com

We will:
✅ Evaluate your case for free.
✅ Explain your legal rights.
✅ Preserve evidence before it disappears.
✅ Fight for the maximum compensation you deserve.

You are not alone. We are here to help.

🔥 A Message to Yankton County Fraternities & Universities

To the fraternities operating in Yankton County:
We know who you are. We know your chapters. We know your national organizations have paid millions in hazing settlements. And we are watching.

If you haze students in Yankton County, we will:

• Sue your chapter.
• Sue your national organization.
• Sue your university.
• Sue you personally.

The same legal strategies that shut down the Pi Kappa Phi chapter at UH apply to your chapter too.

Clean up your act before we clean you out in court.

🏛️ To Mount Marty University & Other South Dakota Institutions

You have a duty to protect your students. When you fail, you will be held accountable.

We are currently suing the University of Houston for $10 million because they owned the fraternity house where a student was waterboarded and hospitalized. If you own fraternity houses in Yankton County, you could be next.

Act now. Implement real oversight. Protect your students. Or face the consequences in court.

💔 To Yankton County Families: We See You. We Believe You. We Will Fight for You.

Hazing is abuse. It’s not tradition. It’s not brotherhood. It’s not acceptable.

If your child has been hazed, we will:

• Listen to your story.
• Believe your child.
• Fight for justice.
• Hold the abusers accountable.

Call 1-888-ATTY-911 today. The consultation is free. The fight for justice starts now.