Hazing Victims in Carroll County, Ohio: Your Legal Rights & How to Get Justice

🚨 Hazing Is Happening in Carroll County — And It’s Time to Stop It

Carroll County families send their children to college expecting them to be safe. But behind the scenes at universities near Carroll County — including Mount Union, Kent State Stark, Walsh University, and others — fraternities and sororities are engaging in dangerous hazing rituals that can lead to serious injury, permanent trauma, or even death.

We’ve seen this before. Just weeks ago, our law firm filed a $10 million lawsuit against Pi Kappa Phi fraternity and the University of Houston after a student was hospitalized with kidney failure from extreme hazing. He was waterboarded, forced to do 500 squats, struck with wooden paddles, and made to eat until he vomited — all as part of so-called “tradition.”

The same fraternities operate in Carroll County.
The same hazing culture exists here.
And the same negligence is putting Carroll County students at risk.

If your child has been hazed, you are not powerless. You have legal rights. You can hold these organizations accountable. And we can help.

⚠️ What Is Hazing? (And Why It’s Illegal in Ohio)

Hazing isn’t just “harmless fun” — it’s abuse, torture, and sometimes a crime. Under Ohio law (ORC § 2903.31), hazing is defined as:

“Any act or coercing another to do any act of initiation into any student or other organization that causes or creates a substantial risk of causing mental or physical harm to any person.”

Examples of Hazing in Carroll County (and Beyond):

✔ Forced drinking – Alcohol poisoning, blackouts, or death
✔ Extreme physical punishment – 100+ pushups, bear crawls, “suicides” (running drills)
✔ Waterboarding or simulated drowning – Psychological torture
✔ Forced eating until vomiting – Risk of choking, aspiration, or internal injury
✔ Sleep deprivation – Leading to exhaustion, accidents, or mental breakdowns
✔ Sexual humiliation or assault – Carrying sexual objects, forced nudity, or worse
✔ Beating with paddles or other objects – Physical assault
✔ Confinement in small spaces – Risk of panic attacks or claustrophobic trauma

Ohio law is clear: Hazing is a crime. And if your child was injured, you can sue for damages.

🏛️ Who Is Liable for Hazing in Carroll County?

When hazing happens, multiple parties can be held accountable — not just the students involved. In our $10 million UH hazing case, we’re suing:

Carroll County families: If your child was hazed, we will identify every liable party and hold them accountable.

💰 How Much Is a Hazing Lawsuit Worth in Carroll County?

Hazing cases can result in millions of dollars in compensation — especially when universities and national organizations are involved. Here’s what juries and courts have awarded in recent cases:

What You Can Recover in a Carroll County Hazing Case:

✅ Medical bills (hospital stays, surgeries, therapy, future treatment)
✅ Lost wages (if your child missed work or internships)
✅ Pain and suffering (physical pain, emotional trauma, PTSD)
✅ Mental anguish (anxiety, depression, fear of retaliation)
✅ Punitive damages (to punish the organization and prevent future hazing)
✅ Wrongful death damages (if hazing led to a fatality)

The more egregious the conduct, the higher the potential compensation. Waterboarding, forced exercise to exhaustion, and physical beatings (like in our UH case) dramatically increase the value of a claim.

🔍 How We Prove a Hazing Case for Carroll County Families

Hazing cases are complex, but we have a proven strategy to win. Here’s how we build a strong case:

1. Preserve Evidence Immediately

✔ Medical records (hospital visits, diagnoses, treatment)
✔ Photos/videos (injuries, hazing activities, fraternity house)
✔ Texts/group chats (screenshots of hazing discussions)
✔ Social media posts (Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, GroupMe)
✔ Witness statements (other pledges, friends, bystanders)
✔ Fraternity documents (pledge manuals, schedules, rules)

⚠️ WARNING: Do NOT delete anything — even if it seems embarrassing. Destroying evidence can hurt your case.

2. Identify All Responsible Parties

We investigate:

• Who organized the hazing?
• Who participated?
• Who knew about it and did nothing?
• Which university officials failed to act?
• Which national organization ignored warnings?

3. Establish Pattern of Negligence

We look for:

• Prior hazing incidents at the same chapter
• University knowledge of past problems
• National organization’s failure to enforce anti-hazing policies

Example: In our UH case, Pi Kappa Phi had 8 years to fix their culture after Andrew Coffey died in 2017 — but they did nothing. The same fraternity operates near Carroll County.

4. Prove the Harm Caused

We work with:

• Medical experts (to document injuries like rhabdomyolysis, concussions, PTSD)
• Economic experts (to calculate lost wages, future medical costs)
• Hazing culture experts (to explain how organizations enable abuse)

🚑 What to Do If Your Child Was Hazed in Carroll County

Step 1: Get Medical Help Immediately

• Go to the ER — even if injuries seem minor (rhabdomyolysis, concussions, and alcohol poisoning can be life-threatening).
• Document everything — take photos of injuries, save medical records.
• Tell the doctor that injuries were caused by hazing (this creates a medical record).

Step 2: Preserve Evidence

✔ Do NOT delete texts, social media posts, or photos.
✔ Write down everything — dates, times, what happened, who was involved.
✔ Get witness names and contact info.
✔ Save any fraternity documents (pledge manuals, schedules, rules).

Step 3: Do NOT Talk to the Fraternity or University Alone

• They will try to control the narrative.
• They may pressure you to sign documents.
• They may intimidate witnesses.

⚠️ Do NOT give statements to the fraternity, sorority, or university without a lawyer present.

Step 4: Contact a Hazing Lawyer Immediately

• Ohio has a 2-year statute of limitations — if you wait, you may lose your right to sue.
• Evidence disappears quickly — fraternities delete messages, destroy records, and intimidate witnesses.
• We work on contingency — you pay nothing upfront. We only get paid if we win.

Carroll County families: Call us now at 📞 1-888-ATTY-911 for a free, confidential consultation.

🏆 Why Choose Attorney 911 for Your Carroll County Hazing Case?

1. We’re Currently Fighting a $10 Million Hazing Case

• We know how to win these cases because we’re actively litigating one right now.
• We understand the fraternity culture, university liability, and insurance tactics.
• We’ve already shut down the UH Pi Kappa Phi chapter — we can do the same for Carroll County chapters.

2. We’re Former Insurance Defense Lawyers

• We know how the other side thinks. We’ve worked for insurance companies — now we use that knowledge to fight for victims.
• We know their delay tactics, lowball offers, and evidence destruction strategies.

3. We Have Federal Court Authority

• We can pursue cases in federal court — giving us more leverage against national fraternities.
• We’re licensed in Texas AND New York — critical for suing national organizations.

4. We Travel to Carroll County

• We have offices in Houston, Austin, and Beaumont, but we come to Carroll County for depositions, trials, and client meetings.
• We offer remote consultations for Carroll County families who can’t travel.

5. We Work on Contingency — $0 Upfront

• You pay nothing unless we win.
• No hourly fees, no retainers, no hidden costs.
• We take the risk so you don’t have to.

6. We Speak Spanish

• Se habla español — we can serve Carroll County’s Hispanic families without language barriers.

7. We Have a Proven Track Record

• 4.9/5 stars on Google (250+ reviews)
• Millions recovered for personal injury victims
• Former BP Texas City explosion litigators — we know how to take on massive institutions

🎓 Universities Near Carroll County Where Hazing Happens

While we don’t have documented hazing cases in Carroll County itself, these nearby universities have active Greek life — and the same fraternities that have been involved in hazing deaths and lawsuits nationwide:

Carroll County families: If your child attends or pledges at any of these schools, they are at risk. The same fraternities that waterboarded our client in Houston have chapters near Carroll County.

📢 What Happens If You Report Hazing in Carroll County?

1. The Fraternity Will Try to Silence You

• They may threaten expulsion from the organization.
• They may intimidate witnesses.
• They may delete evidence (texts, photos, videos).

2. The University May Protect Itself — Not Your Child

• Universities care about their reputation, not your child’s safety.
• They may downplay the incident to avoid bad publicity.
• They may pressure you to settle quietly.

3. The National Organization Will Deny Responsibility

• They’ll say: “It was just a few bad apples.”
• They’ll say: “We have anti-hazing policies.”
• They’ll say: “We didn’t know.”

But we know the truth:

• They DID know — Pi Kappa Phi knew about “a hazing crisis” (per our lawsuit).
• They DIDN’T act — Andrew Coffey died in 2017, and they did nothing to stop it from happening again.
• They WILL pay — Juries award millions when fraternities torture students.

🔥 Fraternities Near Carroll County: We’re Watching You

To the fraternities operating near Carroll County — Pi Kappa Phi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Phi Delta Theta, Kappa Sigma, and others:

We are actively investigating hazing at your chapters. We have filed a $10 million lawsuit against Pi Kappa Phi, and we will not stop until every fraternity that abuses students is held accountable.

If your chapter hazes students in Carroll County, know this:

• We will sue your national organization.
• We will sue your local chapter.
• We will sue your individual members.
• We will shut you down.
• We will make you pay.

Your “traditions” end now.

📞 Carroll County Families: Call Us Now — 1-888-ATTY-911

If your child has been hazed, you have legal rights. But you must act fast — before evidence disappears, witnesses forget, or the statute of limitations expires.

We offer:

✅ Free, confidential consultations — no obligation
✅ $0 upfront costs — we only get paid if we win
✅ Aggressive representation — we don’t back down from fraternities or universities
✅ Remote consultations — we can meet via video call
✅ Travel to Carroll County — we come to you for meetings, depositions, and trials

Call now before it’s too late:

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

We will fight for Carroll County families — because no child should be tortured in the name of “brotherhood.”