Hamlin Parents: Your Guide to Hazing, Texas Law & Protecting Your College Student

If Your Child Was Hurt at a Fraternity, Sorority, or Campus Group, You Are Not Alone

For families in Hamlin, Roby, Rotan, and across Fisher County, sending a child to college is filled with pride and hope. You’ve watched them grow up in our tight-knit West Texas community, supported their dreams at Hamlin High School, and trusted they’d be safe pursuing their future. The nightmare begins with a late-night phone call, a cryptic text, or your child returning home broken—physically or emotionally—after an initiation gone wrong.

Right now, just a few hours from Hamlin in Houston, our firm is leading one of the most serious hazing cases in the country. We represent Leonel Bermudez, a University of Houston student who suffered catastrophic injuries during his Pi Kappa Phi pledge period. As reported by Click2Houston and ABC13, Bermudez was subjected to forced consumption of food until vomiting, extreme workouts, and psychological torment that led to rhabdomyolysis (severe muscle breakdown) and acute kidney failure. His urine turned brown, he was hospitalized for four days, and he faces ongoing health risks. This $10 million lawsuit against UH and Pi Kappa Phi represents exactly what we fight against every day.

This comprehensive guide is written specifically for parents in Hamlin, Fisher County, and the surrounding Texas Plains region. We’ll explain what modern hazing really looks like, your legal rights under Texas law, and how our experience with cases like Bermudez’s can help your family seek accountability and justice.

Immediate Help for Hamlin Families in Crisis

If you suspect hazing right now:

• Medical Emergency: Call 911 or get to the nearest emergency room (Fisher County Hospital or seek care in Abilene).
• Legal Emergency: Call us at 1-888-ATTY-911. We provide immediate guidance, 24/7.
• In the First 48 Hours:
  • Preserve Evidence: Screenshot all group chats (GroupMe, WhatsApp, texts), photograph injuries, save any physical items.
  • Document Everything: Write down what happened, who was involved, and where it occurred.
  • Do NOT: Confront the organization, sign anything from the university, or let your child delete messages.
• We Serve Hamlin & West Texas: Though based in Houston, we serve families across Texas. We understand the values of our rural communities—faith, family, and accountability—and we bring that understanding to every case.

What Hazing Really Looks Like in 2025 (Beyond the Stereotypes)

Hazing isn’t just “boys being boys” or harmless pranks. For Hamlin parents, it’s crucial to recognize the modern forms of abuse that often fly under the radar until it’s too late.

Modern Hazing Often Involves:

1. Digital Control & Humiliation: 24/7 group chat demands, forced social media posts, location tracking, and sleep deprivation via constant phone notifications.
2. “Voluntary” Coercion: Activities framed as “optional” but with severe social consequences for refusal. Your child may feel they “chose” to participate when real choice was impossible.
3. Disguised Abuse: Extreme physical exertion called “workouts,” forced drinking called “games,” and psychological torment called “bonding.”
4. Off-Campus Locations: To avoid university oversight, hazing frequently occurs at off-campus houses, Airbnbs, or rural properties, making it harder for schools like Texas Tech or Abilene Christian University to monitor.

Is It Hazing? Ask These Questions:

• Is my child being pressured or forced to do something to belong?
• Would they do this if there were no social consequences for saying no?
• Is the activity dangerous, degrading, or illegal?
• Are older members making new members do things they themselves don’t have to do?

If you answered “yes” to any, it’s likely hazing under Texas law.

Texas Hazing Law: What Hamlin Families Must Know

Texas has strong laws against hazing, designed to protect students like yours. Understanding these laws is the first step to holding people accountable.

Texas Education Code, Chapter 37, Subchapter F – Key Provisions:

• Definition: Hazing is any intentional, knowing, or reckless act that endangers the mental or physical health of a student for the purpose of initiation into or affiliation with any organization.
• Criminal Penalties: Hazing is a Class B Misdemeanor. It becomes a State Jail Felony if it causes serious bodily injury or death. Individuals can also be charged for failing to report hazing or retaliating against someone who does.
• Consent is NOT a Defense: Texas law §37.155 is clear—even if your child “agreed,” it is not a legal defense. Courts understand the power imbalance and coercion in these situations.
• Organizational Liability: The fraternity, sorority, or club itself can be fined up to $10,000 and lose university recognition.
• Good-Faith Reporting Protections: Those who report hazing or call for medical help in good faith are protected from certain liabilities, encouraging students to seek help.

Civil Lawsuits vs. Criminal Charges:

• Criminal Case: Brought by the state (e.g., Fisher County District Attorney or campus police). Goal is punishment (jail, fines).
• Civil Lawsuit: Brought by your family. Goal is compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering, and to hold all responsible parties accountable—including national fraternities and the university. These can proceed independently.

Lessons from National Tragedies: Patterns That Repeat in Texas

The hazing that injured Leonel Bermudez at UH is not an isolated event. It follows a national playbook. Understanding these patterns proves that these injuries are foreseeable—and preventable.

Fatal Alcohol Hazing: A Preventable Pattern

• Stone Foltz (Bowling Green State, Pi Kappa Alpha, 2021): Forced to drink a bottle of alcohol; died. Result: $10 million settlement, criminal convictions.
• Max Gruver (LSU, Phi Delta Theta, 2017): Forced drinking during “Bible study”; died. Result: $6.1 million verdict, new Louisiana felony hazing law.
• Timothy Piazza (Penn State, Beta Theta Pi, 2017): Fall and delayed aid after forced drinking; died. Result: Dozens of criminal charges, new Pennsylvania law.

Severe Physical & Psychological Hazing

• Danny Santulli (Missouri, Phi Gamma Delta, 2021): Forced drinking led to permanent brain damage. Result: Multi-million dollar settlements with 22 defendants.
• Sigma Alpha Epsilon at Texas A&M (2021): Pledges suffered chemical burns requiring skin grafts from being doused with cleaners. The chapter was suspended, and a lawsuit followed.

What This Means for Hamlin Families: The national fraternities present on Texas campuses—Pi Kappa Phi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Pi Kappa Alpha, Phi Delta Theta—have extensive histories of the exact conduct that injures students. This “pattern evidence” is powerful in court, showing these organizations knew the risks and failed to prevent them.

Hazing at Texas Universities Where Hamlin Students Attend

Hamlin families often send students to major universities across Texas. Each campus has its own Greek life ecosystem and history of incidents.

Texas Tech University (Lubbock) – A Primary Destination for West Texas Students

Many students from Hamlin and Fisher County choose Texas Tech in Lubbock. Its prominent Greek life community has faced serious hazing allegations.

• Campus Snapshot: A major public university with a large Greek system of over 40 fraternities and sororities.
• Recent Concerns: While specific public reports vary, Texas Tech, like all large Greek systems, contends with hazing risks. National fraternities with documented hazing histories, including Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Pi Kappa Alpha, have active chapters at Tech.
• For Hamlin Families: An incident in Lubbock would involve Lubbock PD, Texas Tech police, and potentially the Lubbock County courts. We have the experience to navigate this multi-jurisdictional landscape.

Abilene Universities (McMurry, Abilene Christian, Hardin-Simmons)

Closer to home, Abilene’s faith-based campuses are not immune.

• Community Culture: While these schools have different cultures, any close-knit group—athletic teams, spirit groups, or social clubs—can harbor hazing.
• Local Response: Incidents would involve Abilene PD and Taylor County courts. The smaller, faith-based environment can create unique pressures on victims to stay silent.

Other Major Texas Universities

• University of Houston: The site of our active Bermudez/Pi Kappa Phi case. UH has suspended multiple chapters for hazing, including Pi Kappa Alpha for incidents involving physical injury.
• Texas A&M University: Has faced high-profile lawsuits, including against the Corps of Cadets for degrading physical hazing and against Sigma Alpha Epsilon for chemical burn injuries.
• UT Austin: Maintains a public hazing violations log, showing repeated sanctions against groups for forced drinking, extreme calisthenics, and psychological abuse.
• Baylor University: Has suspended athletic teams for hazing and operates under heightened scrutiny following past institutional failures.

The Common Thread: At every school, the risk emerges when tradition overrides safety, and institutions fail to vigilantly enforce their own policies.

The Greek Organizations Behind the Letters: National Histories Matter

When your child is hurt by a fraternity at Texas Tech or another school, you’re not just up against a local chapter. You’re facing a national organization with deep pockets, insurance, and a legal playbook. Our job is to hold every responsible layer accountable.

Using the Texas Hazing Intelligence Engine: We maintain a proprietary database built from public records to trace organizational liability. For example, our data shows:

Public Records Directory: Fraternity & Sorority Entities Connected to Texas Campuses

• Pi Kappa Phi National Headquarters: Named defendant in the Bermudez UH lawsuit.
• Beta Nu Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity Housing Corporation Inc. (EIN 462267515, Frisco, TX 75035): A Texas-registered housing corporation connected to the fraternity.
• Sigma Alpha Epsilon – Texas Sigma Incorporated (EIN 882755427, San Marcos, TX 78666): A Texas-incorporated entity of SAE, which has faced lawsuits at Texas A&M and UT.
• Kappa Sigma – Mu Camma Chapter Inc. (EIN 133048786, College Station, TX 77845): An IRS-registered chapter entity at Texas A&M.
• Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (Multiple EINs, including 900293166 in College Station): An example of the many academic Greek organizations registered in Texas.

This is just a snapshot of over 1,400 Greek-related organizations we track across Texas. This intelligence allows us to immediately identify relevant entities, their insurance, and their legal relationships in an investigation.

Why This Matters: National fraternities often claim the local chapter is “rogue.” Our data-driven approach helps prove what they knew, when they knew it, and how their national policies failed.

Building a Hazing Case: Evidence, Strategy & Damages

Pursuing justice requires a meticulous, strategic approach from day one. This is where our experience in complex litigation against institutions like BP informs our hazing practice.

Critical Evidence We Pursue:

1. Digital Forensics: Deleted GroupMe messages, Snapchats, Instagram DMs. We work with experts to recover what organizations try to erase.
2. Internal Chapter Records: Pledge manuals, meeting minutes, fine lists, and communications with national headquarters.
3. University Files: Prior disciplinary records for the same group, incident reports, and emails showing what the school knew.
4. Medical Documentation: ER records, lab tests (like the CK levels showing rhabdomyolysis), and psychological evaluations for PTSD, anxiety, and depression.
5. Witness Testimony: Other pledges, former members, roommates, and bystanders.

Types of Damages in a Hazing Case:

• Economic: All medical bills (past and future), lost wages, cost of therapy, and diminished future earning capacity if injuries are permanent.
• Non-Economic: Pain and suffering, emotional distress, humiliation, loss of enjoyment of life.
• Wrongful Death Damages: If tragedy occurs, families can seek funeral costs, loss of companionship, and emotional suffering.

Our Strategic Advantage: Mr. Lupe Peña, our associate attorney, spent years as an insurance defense attorney for national firms. He knows exactly how fraternity and university insurers will try to deny, delay, and minimize your claim. We use that insider knowledge to build unshakeable cases.

Practical Guide for Hamlin Parents & Students

For Parents: Warning Signs & Steps to Take

Red Flags:

• Unexplained injuries, excessive fatigue, or drastic weight change.
• New secrecy about group activities, withdrawal from family/friends.
• Constant, anxious phone use related to group chats.
• Personality shifts: anger, depression, anxiety.
• Sudden academic or financial problems.

Action Steps:

1. Talk Calmly: Ask open-ended questions. “I’m worried about you. Is anything happening that feels unsafe or wrong?”
2. Prioritize Health: Seek medical and psychological care immediately.
3. Preserve Evidence: Guide your child to screenshot everything. See our video on using your phone to document evidence.
4. Report Strategically: You can report to campus police, the Dean of Students, and local police. Consult with us first to protect the investigation.
5. Consult a Lawyer Early: Before giving statements or signing anything. Learn about common client mistakes that can hurt a case.

For Students: Safety & Rights

• Your Safety Comes First: In an emergency, call 911. Texas law offers protections for those who seek help in good faith.
• You Can Leave: You have the legal right to quit any group at any time.
• Document Everything Secretly: Screenshot, photograph, record (Texas is a one-party consent state).
• Know Your Rights: “Consent” is not a defense for hazing in Texas. You are the victim.

Critical Mistakes to Avoid

• Deleting messages or cleaning up evidence.
• Confronting the fraternity/sorority directly (they will lawyer up and destroy evidence).
• Signing university “resolution” forms without an attorney’s review.
• Posting details on social media, which the defense will use against you.
• Waiting too long. Texas has a statute of limitations—typically two years from the injury.

Why Parents in Hamlin & West Texas Choose Attorney911

When your family faces a hazing crisis, you need more than a general personal injury lawyer. You need attorneys who understand both the deep trauma to your family and the complex legal battlefield against national organizations.

Our Proven Qualifications for Hazing Cases:

• Active, High-Stakes Litigation: We are currently leading the Leonel Bermudez v. UH & Pi Kappa Phi lawsuit—a $10 million case involving catastrophic injury. We are in the fight right now.
• Insurance Insider Knowledge: Mr. Lupe Peña (he/him) is a former insurance defense attorney. He knows the exact tactics fraternity and university insurers use to deny claims. We know their playbook because we used to run it.
• Experience Against Giant Institutions: Our founder, Ralph Manginello, was one of the few Texas attorneys involved in the BP Texas City explosion litigation. We are not intimidated by billion-dollar corporations or wealthy national fraternities.
• Data-Driven Investigation: We employ the Texas Hazing Intelligence Engine, a proprietary database tracking over 1,400 Greek organizations across Texas. We don’t start from scratch; we start with intelligence.
• Deep Texas Roots & Understanding: We serve families from our Houston, Austin, and Beaumont offices, but we understand the values and realities of West Texas communities like Hamlin. Mr. Peña is a fluent Spanish speaker, ensuring we can serve all Texas families.

We approach each case with a simple mission: get your family the answers and accountability you deserve, and force the changes needed to protect the next student from Hamlin.

Your Next Step: A Free, Confidential Consultation

If hazing has impacted your child, you don’t have to navigate this alone. The institutions involved will have lawyers immediately. You should too.

Contact The Manginello Law Firm, PLLC (Attorney911) Today.

Call our Legal Emergency Lawyers™ at 1-888-ATTY-911 (1-888-288-9911). You can also reach us directly at (713) 528-9070 or via cell at (713) 443-4781.

What to Expect in Your Free Consultation:

1. We listen compassionately to your story.
2. We review any evidence you have.
3. We explain your legal options in clear, honest terms.
4. We discuss how we investigate hazing cases and our contingency fee structure—you pay nothing unless we win.
5. You get the information needed to make the best decision for your family, with no pressure.

Se habla Español. Contact Mr. Lupe Peña at lupe@atty911.com for consultation in Spanish.

Serving Hamlin, Fisher County, and All of Texas. Whether your child was hurt at Texas Tech, a school in Abilene, or any campus nationwide, we have the expertise to help. Visit our website at https://attorney911.com to learn more about our firm and our commitment to holding powerful institutions accountable.

Legal Disclaimer: This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is unique, and outcomes depend on specific facts and law. If you need legal advice, please contact us for a consultation regarding your specific situation.