Hazing in Henry County, Alabama: A Family Guide to Rights, Resources, and Accountability

The Unthinkable Phone Call: When Hazing Hits Home in Henry County

You’re at home in Abbeville, Headland, or another quiet community in Henry County when the phone rings. It’s your child, their voice shaky, calling from college. They’re hurt, confused, and maybe a little ashamed. The story spills out: a fraternity “big brother” night that went too far, a sorority “sisterhood” retreat that turned degrading, or a team initiation that crossed the line from bonding into abuse. As a parent in Alabama’s Wiregrass region, your first instinct is protection—but the path forward feels murky with a powerful university and a national organization involved.

You are not alone. Right now, our firm is fighting one of the most serious hazing cases in the country. We represent Leonel Bermudez in his $10 million hazing lawsuit against the University of Houston and the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. The details are harrowing: forced consumption of food until vomiting, extreme workouts leading to kidney failure, and psychological torment. This active, high-stakes litigation demonstrates the level of institutional fight families face and the depth of investigation required to win accountability.

For families across Henry County—from Abbeville to Newville, and in towns like Haleburg and Shorterville—this guide serves as your comprehensive resource. Whether your child attends a local Alabama college, a major SEC school, or a university in another state, the legal principles of hazing, the patterns of institutional cover-up, and your family’s right to accountability remain the same.

Immediate Help for a Hazing Emergency

If your child is in danger RIGHT NOW:

• Call 911 for any medical emergency.
• Then call Attorney911: 1-888-ATTY-911 (1-888-288-9911) for immediate legal guidance. We are the Legal Emergency Lawyers™.

In the First 48 Hours, DO NOT:

• Let your child delete messages, photos, or group chats.
• Confront the fraternity, sorority, or team directly.
• Sign any documents from the university or an insurance company.
• Discuss the incident publicly on social media.

What You MUST Do:

1. Secure Medical Care: Health comes first. Ensure your child is evaluated by a doctor, even if injuries seem minor. Tell the medical staff the injuries are from a hazing incident.
2. Preserve Evidence: Take screenshots of all relevant text messages, GroupMe chats, and social media posts. Photograph any injuries from multiple angles.
3. Document Everything: Write down a timeline with names, dates, locations, and what happened while memories are fresh.
4. Contact an Attorney: The window to secure crucial evidence is short. Call us at 1-888-ATTY-911 for a free, confidential consultation to discuss your family’s specific situation.

Hazing in 2025: Not Just “Boys Being Boys”

Hazing has evolved far beyond the stereotypical paddling or silly pranks. Under Alabama law and the laws of most states, hazing is any intentional, reckless, or coerced act by a group member that endangers the mental or physical health of a student for the purpose of initiation, affiliation, or maintaining membership.

For Henry County families, understanding the modern forms of hazing is critical to recognizing the signs.

The Four Pillars of Modern Hazing

1. Substance Coercion: This remains the deadliest form. It includes forced drinking games (“century club,” “beer pong until you drop”), mandated consumption of dangerous amounts of alcohol or illicit substances, and punishment by alcohol. The national cases of Stone Foltz, Max Gruver, and Andrew Coffey all followed this fatal pattern.

2. Physical & Psychological Torment: This includes sleep deprivation, forced calisthenics to the point of injury (like rhabdomyolysis, which we see in the Bermudez case), exposure to extreme elements, kidnapping scenarios, and sustained verbal abuse and humiliation designed to break down a person’s psyche.

3. Sexualized Degradation: This involves forced nudity, simulated sexual acts, sexually explicit humiliation, and acts that blur the line into sexual assault. These are not “jokes”; they are profound violations that cause lasting trauma.

4. Digital Dominion: Today’s hazing often plays out on smartphones. Pledges are required to be on 24/7 call via GroupMe, respond instantly to demands, share their location, and participate in humiliating social media “challenges.” This creates a constant state of anxiety and control.

The fraternity model is national. The Pi Kappa Phi chapter at the University of Houston that we are currently suing operates under the same national headquarters, insurance policies, and risk management manuals as Pi Kappa Phi chapters at universities across the country, including those in Alabama. The patterns of abuse are regrettably similar.

Alabama Hazing Law and Your Family’s Legal Rights

While our firm is Texas-based, we maintain a deep understanding of hazing statutes nationwide and work with local counsel across the country. For Henry County families, Alabama’s legal framework is the starting point.

Alabama’s Anti-Hazing Statute

Alabama Code § 16-1-23 makes hazing a criminal offense. Key provisions include:

• Definition: Hazing is defined as any willful act directed against a student for the purpose of initiation or admission into an organization that endangers physical or mental health.
• Criminal Penalties: Hazing is a Class C misdemeanor. However, if the act results in serious physical injury, it becomes a Class A misdemeanor.
• Consent is NOT a Defense: The law explicitly states that the consent of the student is not a valid defense against a hazing charge. This is crucial—it doesn’t matter if your child “went along with it.”
• Duty to Report: The law requires any person at an institution of education who witnesses or has knowledge of hazing to report it to law enforcement or campus officials.

The Dual Path: Criminal Charges and Civil Lawsuits

It’s vital to understand the two distinct legal avenues:

• Criminal Case: Brought by the state (e.g., the Henry County District Attorney or local city prosecutor). The goal is punishment (fines, probation, potential jail time). A criminal conviction can help a civil case, but it is not required to file one.
• Civil Lawsuit: Brought by the victim and their family. The goal is financial compensation (damages) for medical bills, pain and suffering, lost educational opportunity, and to hold responsible parties accountable. This is where our expertise lies.

Who Can Be Held Liable in a Civil Hazing Case?

A thorough investigation seeks to identify every potentially responsible party, which often includes:

• The Individual Perpetrators: The students who planned, led, or participated in the hazing.
• The Local Chapter: As an organization, it can be sued for creating or allowing a dangerous environment.
• The National Fraternity/Sorority: Often the deepest pocket. They collect dues, provide manuals, and are supposed to supervise chapters. If they knew or should have known about a pattern of hazing (like Pi Kappa Phi’s national history), they can be held liable for negligent supervision.
• The University: Both public (like Auburn University) and private institutions have a legal duty to protect their students. They can be liable for failing to enforce their own policies, ignoring prior complaints, or acting with deliberate indifference.
• Third Parties: This includes landowners of off-campus houses where hazing occurred, or alcohol providers under Alabama’s dram shop laws.

The recent national $10 million lawsuit against University of Houston and Pi Kappa Phi demonstrates this multi-defendant approach, suing the university system, the national fraternity, the housing corporation, and 13 individual members.

The National Hazing Landscape: Patterns That Repeat in Alabama

History shows that hazing is not a series of isolated incidents, but a repeating pattern. The same national organizations, the same risky traditions, and the same institutional failures recur.

Landmark Cases That Shape the Law

• Timothy Piazza (Penn State, Beta Theta Pi, 2017): A bid-acceptance night with extreme drinking led to fatal falls. The hours-long delay in calling 911, captured on chapter house security cameras, became a national scandal. It resulted in the Timothy J. Piazza Anti-Hazing Law in Pennsylvania and hundreds of criminal charges.
• Max Gruver (LSU, Phi Delta Theta, 2017): A “Bible study” drinking game where incorrect answers mandated drinking. Gruver died of alcohol poisoning, leading to Louisiana’s Max Gruver Act, a felony hazing statute.
• Stone Foltz (Bowling Green State, Pi Kappa Alpha, 2021): A “big brother” night where Foltz was forced to drink a bottle of liquor. His death resulted in a $10 million settlement from the national fraternity and university, and criminal convictions for members.
• Danny Santulli (Mizzou, Phi Gamma Delta, 2021): A pledge was forced to drink until he suffered permanent, catastrophic brain damage. His family settled with 22 defendants, highlighting the life-altering consequences of non-fatal hazing.

These cases prove that juries and courts will hold organizations financially responsible for predictable, preventable tragedies. The same legal principles apply whether the case is in Ohio, Louisiana, or Alabama.

Why National Fraternity Histories Matter

When we take a case, we investigate the national organization’s entire history. A pattern of similar incidents at other chapters proves the national headquarters was on notice—they knew or should have known their policies were failing. For example:

• Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) has faced lawsuits and chapter closures across the SEC, including at the University of Alabama and the University of Georgia, related to alcohol hazing and assault.
• Pi Kappa Alpha (Pike) has been involved in multiple deaths, including Stone Foltz’s, leading to national scrutiny.
• Pi Kappa Phi is the defendant in our active University of Houston case, demonstrating a severe pattern of physical and psychological abuse.

This “pattern and practice” evidence is powerful in court. It shows the conduct was not a “rogue chapter” issue but a systemic failure.

Hazing Risks for Henry County Students: Alabama Campuses and Beyond

Henry County students attend a diverse array of colleges. Understanding the Greek life and organizational landscape at these schools is key.

Alabama Universities with Active Greek Systems

While hazing is prohibited everywhere, it persists. Major Alabama universities with significant Greek life populations include:

• Auburn University: A major SEC school with a large Greek system encompassing IFC fraternities, Panhellenic sororities, and NPHC organizations.
• University of Alabama: Home to one of the largest Greek systems in the country, with a well-documented history and ongoing efforts to manage risk.
• Troy University: Has active fraternity and sorority life on its main campus.
• University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB): Has a growing Greek community.
• Jacksonville State University & Auburn University at Montgomery: Also host Greek-letter organizations.

Hazing is not confined to social fraternities. It has been documented in band programs, athletic teams, ROTC units, and academic clubs at schools nationwide.

The “Off-Campus” Loophole and Retreat Hazing

Organizations know universities have limited jurisdiction off-campus. Hazing is increasingly moved to:

• Private off-campus houses not owned by the university.
• Remote retreats at lakes, cabins, or Airbnbs (as in the deadly Pi Delta Psi case at Baruch College).
• Third-party venues.

This does not absolve liability. National organizations and universities can still be responsible if they sponsored the event, knew about it, or if the conduct was foreseeable. Our investigation always traces the connections back to the controlling institutions.

Building a Powerful Hazing Case: Evidence Is Everything

Winning a hazing case requires converting a painful experience into a legally compelling narrative. This is where our investigative approach makes the difference.

The Digital Paper Trail: Modern Evidence

The most critical evidence today exists on phones and servers:

• Group Chats (GroupMe, WhatsApp, iMessage): These show planning, coordination, boasts, and threats. We work with digital forensics experts to recover deleted messages.
• Social Media (Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok): Photos, videos, and stories that document events, injuries, and the culture of the organization.
• Internal Chapter Documents: Pledge manuals, “big brother” assignments, and meeting notes secured through discovery.
• University Records: Prior disciplinary reports against the same chapter, obtained through subpoenas or public records requests. A history of “warnings” proves the university knew of a problem.

In the Bermudez case, evidence included the mandate for a “pledge fanny pack” with humiliating items, schedules of forced workouts, and communications about threats of expulsion for non-compliance.

Damages: What a Civil Case Can Recover

A lawsuit seeks to make the victim whole and hold defendants accountable. Recoverable damages can include:

• Medical Expenses: Past and future costs for hospital stays, surgery, therapy, and long-term care (critical in cases like rhabdomyolysis or traumatic brain injury).
• Pain and Suffering: Compensation for physical pain and emotional trauma, including PTSD, anxiety, and depression.
• Loss of Enjoyment of Life: The impact on a student’s ability to participate in college, hobbies, and normal life.
• Educational Costs: Tuition lost due to withdrawal or medical leave, and the cost of transferring.
• Punitive Damages: In cases of egregious conduct, these damages punish the defendant and deter future behavior.

Practical Guides for Henry County Families

For Parents: Warning Signs and Steps to Take

Red Flags Your Child May Be Being Hazed:

• Unexplained injuries (bruises, burns, limping).
• Extreme fatigue and sleep deprivation.
• Sudden changes in mood: anxiety, depression, or secrecy.
• Constant, anxious attention to phone for group chat messages.
• Dropping grades or missing classes for “mandatory” events.
• Requests for unusual amounts of money for “fines” or “supplies.”

Your Action Plan:

1. Listen Without Judgment: Create a safe space for your child to talk.
2. Preserve, Don’t Confront: Secure evidence before confronting the organization or university.
3. Seek Legal Counsel Early: An attorney can guide interactions with the school and police, protecting your child’s rights from the start.

For Students: Your Rights and Safety

• You Have the Right to Be Safe: No tradition is worth your life or health.
• Consent is Not a Defense in Court: You cannot legally agree to be hazed.
• Good Samaritan/Amnesty Policies: Most universities and Alabama law have protections for those who call for help in an alcohol-related emergency. Call 911 first.
• How to Safely Exit: You can resign your pledge or membership at any time via email. You do not owe anyone an in-person explanation.

Critical Mistakes That Can Harm a Case

• Deleting digital evidence.
• Discussing the case publicly on social media.
• Giving a recorded statement to a university or insurance adjuster without a lawyer.
• Accepting a quick, low-ball settlement from a university to “make it go away.”
• Waiting too long. Statutes of limitations restrict your time to file a lawsuit.

Why Attorney911 for Your Henry County Hazing Case

When your family faces the trauma of hazing, you need advocates who understand both the human cost and the complex legal battlefield. The Manginello Law Firm, PLLC (operating as Attorney911, the Legal Emergency Lawyers™) brings a unique combination of expertise to hazing litigation.

1. Active, High-Stakes Hazing Litigation Experience: We are not theorists. We are currently leading the Leonel Bermudez v. University of Houston & Pi Kappa Phi lawsuit—a $10 million case alleging severe physical abuse, kidney failure, and institutional failure. We know how national fraternities and universities defend these cases because we are fighting one right now.

2. Insider Knowledge from the Defense Side: Our attorney, Mr. Lupe Peña, spent years as an insurance defense attorney for a national firm. He knows exactly how fraternity and university insurance companies evaluate claims, deploy delay tactics, and fight coverage. We know their playbook because we used to run it.

3. Proven Experience Against Giant Institutions: Managing Partner Ralph Manginello was one of the few plaintiff attorneys involved in the BP Texas City explosion litigation, taking on a billion-dollar corporation. We are not intimidated by the deep pockets or aggressive defense teams of national fraternities and universities.

4. A Data-Driven Investigative Approach: We believe in building cases on facts. We employ investigative techniques to uncover digital evidence, track down witnesses, and obtain internal documents that organizations try to hide. We think like investigators to build an unshakable case.

5. Serving Families Nationwide, Including Alabama: While our offices are in Texas, we serve hazing victims and their families across the country. For Henry County families, we operate through co-counsel relationships with experienced local Alabama attorneys where appropriate, and we provide comprehensive case strategy, investigation, and litigation support. If your case has connections to Texas (like a national fraternity headquartered there), we may serve as lead counsel. Regardless, we offer free, confidential consultations to all families to help you understand your options.

Your Next Step: A Free, Confidential Consultation

If hazing has impacted your family in Henry County, you do not have to navigate this crisis alone. The path to accountability starts with a conversation.

Contact The Manginello Law Firm / Attorney911 today for a free, no-obligation case evaluation.

• Call our 24/7 Line: 1-888-ATTY-911 (1-888-288-9911)
• Visit our Website: https://attorney911.com
• Email Managing Partner Ralph Manginello: ralph@atty911.com
• Email Attorney Lupe Peña (Se habla Español): lupe@atty911.com

In your confidential consultation, we will:

• Listen carefully to your story.
• Explain the legal options available to your family under Alabama and federal law.
• Discuss the investigation process and what we can do to help.
• Answer your questions about timing, costs, and what to expect.
• We work on a contingency fee basis for personal injury cases—there is no fee unless we recover money for you.

Plain Text Links to Key Resources

News Coverage of Our Active UH Pi Kappa Phi Case:

• Click2Houston report on UH Pi Kappa Phi hazing case: https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2025/11/21/only-on-2-lawsuit-alleges-severe-hazing-at-university-of-houstons-pi-kappa-phi-chapter-fraternity/
• ABC13 coverage of Leonel Bermudez’s UH hazing lawsuit: https://abc13.com/post/waterboarding-forced-eating-physical-punishment-lawsuit-alleges-abuse-faced-injured-pledge-uhs-pi-kappa-phi-fraternity/18186418/

Attorney911 Educational Videos (YouTube):

• Using your phone to document evidence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLbpzrmogTs
• Understanding statutes of limitations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRHwg8tV02c
• Client mistakes that can ruin a case: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3IYsoxOSxY
• How contingency fees work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upcI_j6F7Nc

Our Firm Website & Contact:

• Main Website & Contact Form: https://attorney911.com

Legal Disclaimer

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this article does not create an attorney-client relationship. Each case is unique, and outcomes depend on specific facts and applicable law. If you believe you or your child has been a victim of hazing, you should immediately consult with a qualified attorney to discuss your legal rights and options.

The Manginello Law Firm, PLLC / Attorney911 is a Texas-based law firm with attorneys licensed in Texas. We may affiliate with local counsel in other states as needed. We do not practice law in any jurisdiction where we are not properly licensed.

The Manginello Law Firm, PLLC / Attorney911
Legal Emergency Lawyers™
Call: 1-888-ATTY-911 (1-888-288-9911)
Website: https://attorney911.com