Justice for Baldwin County Hazing Victims: Attorney 911

Hazing is Not a Tradition. It Is Abuse. We Are Here to Stop It.

To the families of Baldwin County: You raise your children in our communities—from Spanish Fort and Daphne to Fairhope, Foley, and the Gulf Shores area—doing everything right to prepare them for their future. You support their academics and athletics, investing in their success so they can attend major universities like Auburn, the University of Alabama, South Alabama, or other institutions across the South. You send them off to college with pride, trusting that the institutions and organizations they join will keep them safe.

That trust is being betrayed.

When national fraternities and sororities prioritize “tradition” over safety, students get hurt. They get hospitalized. Sometimes, they die. If your child has been a victim of hazing, you are not alone, and you are not powerless. We are Attorney 911, and we are fighting this battle right now.

We Are Litigating a $10 Million Hazing Case Right Now

We don’t just talk about stopping hazing; we are actively fighting it in the courtroom. We are currently representing Leonel Bermudez in a landmark $10 million lawsuit against the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity and the University of Houston.

On November 21, 2025, we filed suit after our client—a “ghost rush” transfer student—was subjected to weeks of systematic torture. The details of this case should serve as a warning to every parent in Baldwin County who has a child involved in Greek life:

• Systematic Abuse: Our client was subjected to “simulated waterboarding” with a garden hose—an act recognized as torture.
• Physical Destruction: He was forced to perform 500 squats, hundreds of pushups, and bear crawls until he collapsed.
• The Medical Consequence: He was hospitalized for four days with severe rhabdomyolysis (muscle breakdown) and acute kidney failure. He was passing brown urine—a sign that his muscles were dissolving into his bloodstream.
• Institutional Failure: The national organization knew about the dangers. The university owned the house where it happened. They failed to protect him.

This happened in Houston, but the same national fraternities (Pi Kappa Phi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Pi Kappa Alpha, and others) operate chapters at the universities where Baldwin County students attend school. The same risk management failures exist. The same dangerous “traditions” are practiced.

We are fighting to hold every responsible party accountable: the local chapter, the national organization, the housing corporation, the individual officers, and the university itself. We are ready to bring this same aggressive representation to Baldwin County families.

Why Baldwin County Families Choose Attorney 911

We are based in Houston, but our reach is nationwide. Hazing cases are complex, often involving laws that cross state lines, national insurance policies, and federal civil rights implications. Baldwin County families choose us because we possess the specific, high-level expertise required to take on massive national organizations.

1. We Are Former Insurance Defense Attorneys

Both of our lead attorneys, Ralph P. Manginello and Lupe Eleno Peña, spent years working for the other side. We were insurance defense lawyers. We know exactly how national fraternities and their insurance carriers evaluate claims. We know their “deny, delay, and defend” playbook inside and out. Now, we use that insider knowledge to dismantle their defenses and maximize compensation for victims.

2. We Track the National Organizations

Fraternities like Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Kappa Alpha Order, and Pi Kappa Phi have chapters all over Alabama and the Southeast. We maintain a database of their hazing history, their corporate structures, and their insurance layers. When a Baldwin County student is hurt at a university in Tuscaloosa, Auburn, or Mobile, we don’t have to guess who to sue. We already know the corporate entities behind the Greek letters.

3. We Are Federal Court Attorneys

We are admitted to the United States District Court and handle cases involving parties from different states. Whether your child was hazed in Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, or Texas, we have the federal authority and the resources to pursue justice. We will travel to Baldwin County for client meetings, depositions, and trials. Distance is not a barrier to justice.

The Danger: What Baldwin County Parents Need to Know

Many parents believe hazing is just “boys being boys” or harmless pranks. The reality is far darker. Modern hazing involves criminal assault, forced ingestion of dangerous substances, and psychological torture.

Rhabdomyolysis: The Silent Killer

In our current $10 million lawsuit, our client suffered from rhabdomyolysis. This is a life-threatening condition caused by extreme physical exertion—like being forced to do hundreds of “bows and toes” or squats while being beaten or screamed at. The muscle tissue breaks down and releases a protein called myoglobin into the blood, which clogs the kidneys.

If your child complains of these symptoms after a pledge event, seek medical attention immediately:

• Extreme muscle pain or weakness.
• Inability to lift arms or walk.
• Dark, tea-colored, or brown urine.
• Vomiting and confusion.

The “Consent” Myth

Fraternities often defend themselves by saying, “He agreed to participate,” or “He could have left at any time.”

We reject this defense. In many jurisdictions, including Texas where we are currently fighting, the law explicitly states that consent is not a defense to hazing. The power dynamics, the threat of social ostracization, and the coercive environment make true consent impossible. If your child was hurt, it does not matter if they “agreed” to the process. The organization is still liable.

Our Hazing Intelligence: We Watch the Fraternities

We don’t just react to lawsuits; we track the patterns of abuse. National fraternities are large corporations with tax IDs, insurance policies, and boards of directors.

We Know Their History

When a fraternity chapter near Baldwin County claims an incident was an “isolated mistake,” we pull the records.

• Pi Kappa Phi: We know their history, including the death of Andrew Coffey at FSU in 2017 and the current hospitalization of our client in 2025.
• Pi Kappa Alpha (Pike): We track the $10 million settlement in the Stone Foltz death case in Ohio.
• Beta Theta Pi: We know the precedent set by the $110 million estimated settlement in the Timothy Piazza case at Penn State.

If these organizations operate on the campus where your child goes to school, they carry this history with them. We use these precedents to prove that the national organizations knew their chapters were dangerous and failed to fix the culture.

What To Do If Your Child Is Hazed

If you are in Baldwin County and suspect your child has been a victim of hazing, you must act fast. Evidence disappears quickly in these cases. Phones are wiped, group chats are deleted, and stories are coordinated.

1. Secure Immediate Medical Care

Do not downplay the injuries. If there is physical trauma, alcohol poisoning, or signs of rhabdomyolysis, go to the ER immediately. Testing for things like creatine kinase levels (for muscle breakdown) must happen right away to prove the injury was caused by hazing.

2. Preserve All Evidence

Do not let your child delete anything.

• Screenshots: Capture all texts, GroupMe chats, Snapchats, and social media DMs related to the pledge process.
• Photos: Take pictures of any bruises, marks, branding, or injuries at all stages of healing.
• Digital Footprint: Save Uber/Lyft receipts that show late-night travel to fraternity houses or off-campus locations.

3. Do Not Negotiate with the Organization

The fraternity, the university, and their national risk managers will try to contact you. They may offer to “handle it internally” or cover medical bills if you stay quiet. Do not talk to them. Their goal is to protect their charter and their liability policies, not your child.

4. Call Attorney 911

We are available to Baldwin County families 24/7. We can initiate preservation letters to stop the destruction of evidence and begin our investigation immediately.

Call Us Now: 1-888-ATTY-911

We Demand Accountability for Baldwin County Students

When you send your child from Baldwin County to a university, you are entrusting their life to that institution. When that trust is broken through hazing, the damage goes beyond physical injuries. It destroys academic careers, causes lasting psychological trauma (PTSD), and shatters families.

We are currently fighting for a family just like yours in a $10 million lawsuit involving waterboarding and kidney failure. We know the playbook the defense will use. We know how to beat it.

We work on contingency. This means Baldwin County families pay $0 upfront. We cover the costs of the investigation, the experts, and the litigation. We only get paid if we win your case.

Don’t let them call it “tradition.” Call it what it is. And then call us.

Attorney 911: Legal Emergency Lawyers™
Serving Hazing Victims in Baldwin County, Alabama and Nationwide
Phone: 1-888-ATTY-911
Email: ralph@atty911.com