A Guide to Hazing Litigation for Families in Van Horn, Texas: Your Path to Accountability

If you are a parent in Van Horn, Culberson County, and your child is away at college, the greatest fear is a late-night phone call. The voice on the other end might be your child, scared and injured, or a university official with vague, concerning news. In an instant, the pride of seeing them join a campus organization can turn into a nightmare of confusion, cover-ups, and medical crises.

Right now, families just like yours are facing this reality. We are leading one of the most serious hazing lawsuits in Texas: the case of Leonel Bermudez against the University of Houston and the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. This is not an abstract story from another state; it is an active, $10 million lawsuit unfolding in our own backyard, demonstrating the severe, life-altering dangers that exist within Texas Greek life.

This guide is written specifically for parents and families in Van Horn, Fort Davis, Sierra Blanca, and across West Texas. We will explain what modern hazing truly looks like, the Texas laws designed to protect your child, and the legal pathways to hold powerful institutions accountable. Whether your student is at a university hours away or closer to home, the principles of justice and safety are the same.

Immediate Help for a Hazing Emergency

If you suspect your child is in immediate danger or has been seriously injured:

• Call 911 for medical help first.
• Then, call us at 1-888-ATTY-911. We provide immediate legal guidance for emergencies.
• Preserve Evidence: Before any digital evidence disappears, help your child screenshot group chats (GroupMe, texts), photograph injuries, and save any related items. Do not delete anything.
• Document: Write down everything your child tells you—dates, times, locations, and names.
• Do Not Confront the organization or university directly. Let us help you navigate this strategically to protect your child’s rights and your potential case.

The Van Horn Connection to a Statewide Problem: The Leonel Bermudez Case

To understand the stakes, you need to know what is happening in Texas courtrooms today. We represent Leonel Bermudez, a University of Houston student whose fall 2025 pledge period with the Pi Kappa Phi Beta Nu chapter nearly killed him.

The hazing he endured was systematic and brutal, occurring at the UH fraternity house, an off-campus residence on Culmore Drive, and during late-night workouts at Yellowstone Boulevard Park. It included:

• Humiliating Rules: Being forced to carry a “pledge fanny pack” 24/7 containing condoms, a sex toy, and nicotine devices.
• Forced Servitude: Hours-long “study” blocks, mandatory interviews, and overnight chauffeuring duties.
• Physical Torture: Extreme calisthenics, bear crawls, being sprayed in the face with a hose “similar to waterboarding,” and lying in vomit-soaked grass.
• Dangerous Consumption: Being forced to drink milk and eat hot dogs and peppercorns until vomiting, then being made to sprint.
• The Final Straw: On November 3, 2025, he was forced to do over 100 push-ups and 500 squats under threat of expulsion. He left unable to stand without help.

The result was a medical catastrophe. Bermudez developed rhabdomyolysis—a severe skeletal muscle breakdown that flooded his kidneys with toxins. He passed brown urine and was hospitalized for four days with acute kidney failure. Lab tests showed critically high creatine kinase levels. He faces an ongoing risk of permanent kidney damage.

This was not the act of a few “bad apples.” The lawsuit names a full universe of defendants: the University of Houston, the UH System Board of Regents, Pi Kappa Phi’s national headquarters, the chapter’s housing corporation, and 13 individual fraternity leaders, including the chapter president and pledgemaster.

The institutional response tells its own story. After reports surfaced, Pi Kappa Phi nationals suspended the chapter on November 6, 2025. On November 14, the members voted to surrender their charter, shutting it down. The University of Houston called the conduct “deeply disturbing” and promised cooperation with law enforcement.

This case is the flagship example of what we do: we use deep investigation and litigation experience to pursue every liable entity, from the individual member who sprayed the hose to the national headquarters that failed to prevent a known pattern of abuse.

For Van Horn families, this case is critical proof. The same national fraternities and sororities present at UH, Texas A&M, or UT Austin have chapters across the state. The same insurance companies defend them. The same institutional instincts to protect reputations exist everywhere. What happened in Houston can and does happen wherever Greek life exists without true accountability.

The Greek Ecosystem Around West Texas: What the Public Records Show

As parents in a tight-knit community like Van Horn, you deserve to know who you are really dealing with when your child joins a fraternity or sorority. These are not just social clubs; they are often complex networks of legal entities with insurance policies, alumni boards, and national corporations.

Our firm maintains a Texas Hazing Intelligence Engine, built from publicly available data, to cut through the letters and track the organizations. Here is what exists in the public record for Texas and our region.

Texas Universities: Where Van Horn Families Send Their Kids

Students from Culberson County attend colleges across Texas. Many stay closer to home at institutions like Sul Ross State University in Alpine, a key regional university in the Big Bend area. Others head to major universities like Texas Tech University in Lubbock or the University of Texas at El Paso. Many also attend the state’s flagship hubs: The University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University in College Station, Baylor University in Waco, and Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

Wherever your child goes, a Greek-life ecosystem exists. At these major schools, there can be 50 or more active fraternity and sorority chapters, each potentially connected to multiple legal entities.

Public Records Directory: Fraternity and Sorority Organizations in Texas

Below is a sample from our proprietary directory of Texas-registered Greek organizations. These are public records from IRS filings (B83 classifications) and business data, showing the backbone of the system your child encounters.

Examples of Texas Greek Organizations (From Public IRS B83 Filings):

• Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority – EIN: 364091267 – Waco, TX 76710
• Frank Heflin Foundation (Phi Delta Theta alumni) – EIN: 203507402 – Canyon, TX 79015
• Texas Kappa Sigma Educational Foundation Inc. – EIN: 741380362 – Fort Worth, TX 76147
• Beta Nu Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity Housing Corporation Inc. – EIN: 462267515 – Frisco, TX 75035
• Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi – EIN: 383742830 – El Paso, TX 79968 (University of Texas at El Paso)
• Kappa Sigma – Mu Gamma Chapter Inc. – EIN: 273662583 – Lufkin, TX 75904
• Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity – EIN: 746064445 – Nederland, TX 77627 (Epsilon Kappa Chapter)
• Sigma Phi Lambda Inc. – EIN: 823971493 – Corinth, TX 76210 (Alpha Sigma Chapter)
• Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity Inc. – EIN: 475381060 – San Marcos, TX 78666 (Theta Iota Chapter at Texas State)
• Chi Omega Fraternity – EIN: 740555581 – Austin, TX 78705 (House Corporation)

Metro-Level Presence (From Cause IQ Data):
The El Paso Metropolitan Area, the closest major metro to Van Horn, is home to numerous Greek organizations, including honor societies, alumni chapters, and undergraduate affiliations. Statewide, our data tracks over 1,423 fraternity and sorority entities across 25 Texas metro areas.

Why This Directory Matters to You
When hazing occurs, liability rarely stops with the undergraduate members in the room. It can extend to the local house corporation that owns the property, the alumni board that oversees the chapter, and the national headquarters that collects dues and sets policy. Our ability to immediately identify these entities—their legal names, EINs, and addresses—means we don’t start from scratch. We know how to find the organizations behind the letters, and we know which ones likely carry the insurance policies needed to provide compensation.

Texas Law: Your Child’s Rights and the Path to Justice

Texas has clear laws against hazing, but navigating them requires an understanding of both criminal and civil courts.

The Texas Hazing Statute (Education Code, Chapter 37)

Texas defines hazing broadly as any intentional, knowing, or reckless act directed at a student for the purpose of initiation or affiliation that endangers their physical or mental health. Key provisions include:

• Crime and Penalty: Hazing is a criminal offense. It is a Class B misdemeanor, but becomes a state jail felony if it causes serious bodily injury or death.
• Consent is NOT a Defense: Texas law explicitly states that a victim’s “consent” to the activity is not a defense against hazing charges. This is crucial, as fraternities often claim, “They wanted to be there.”
• Duty to Report: Individuals with firsthand knowledge of hazing who fail to report it can also face criminal charges.
• Immunity for Reporters: Individuals who report hazing in good faith are generally immune from civil or criminal liability for their own minor involvement (like underage drinking), encouraging the lifesaving call to 911.

Civil Liability: The Path to Compensation and Accountability

A criminal case, handled by the state, seeks to punish wrongdoing with fines or jail time. A civil lawsuit, which we file on behalf of victims, seeks to make the victim whole and hold all responsible parties accountable. These cases can proceed independently.

In a civil hazing case, we can pursue damages for:

• All medical expenses (past and future), including hospital stays, surgery, therapy, and long-term care for injuries like kidney damage or PTSD.
• Lost income and diminished future earning capacity.
• Physical pain and suffering.
• Severe emotional and psychological trauma.
• In wrongful death cases, funeral costs and the family’s profound loss.

Who Can Be Held Liable?

We build cases to ensure no responsible party escapes scrutiny. Potential defendants include:

1. The Individual Perpetrators: The members who carried out or ordered the hazing.
2. The Local Chapter: As an unincorporated association or legal entity.
3. The National Fraternity/Sorority: For failing to supervise, enforce its own policies, or for having prior knowledge of a dangerous chapter culture.
4. The University: For negligent supervision, failing to act on prior reports, or violating duties under Title IX or the Clery Act.
5. Housing Corporations & Alumni Boards: The entities that own the property, fund the chapter, and exercise control.
6. Third Parties: Landlords of off-campus houses or bars that furnished alcohol to minors.

Why Attorney911 is the Right Firm for Van Horn Families Facing a Hazing Crisis

When your family is up against a national fraternity, a large university, and their insurance companies, you need more than a general personal injury attorney. You need a firm with specific, proven advantages in this exact type of fight.

1. We Are Currently Fighting One of Texas’s Most Significant Hazing Cases

As detailed above, we are lead counsel for Leonel Bermudez in his $10 million lawsuit against UH and Pi Kappa Phi. We are not theorists; we are in the trenches right now, taking discovery, fighting motions, and preparing for trial. This gives us immediate, current insight into how these institutions defend themselves in Texas courts.

2. Insider Knowledge of Insurance Company Tactics

One of our attorneys, Mr. Lupe Peña, spent years as a defense attorney for a national insurance defense firm. He knows exactly how insurance companies for fraternities and universities value—and undervalue—claims. He understands their strategies to delay, deny, and minimize payouts. This insider perspective is invaluable when negotiating a settlement or advocating for you at trial. You can learn more about Mr. Peña’s background here.

3. Experience with Billion-Dollar Institutional Defendants

Managing Partner Ralph Manginello was one of the few plaintiff’s attorneys involved in the BP Texas City explosion litigation. We have faced down some of the largest corporations in the world. A national fraternity or a state university system does not intimidate us. We have the resources, the expert networks, and the tenacity to pursue complex institutional cases. Learn about Ralph’s experience here.

4. A Data-Driven Investigative Approach

We don’t just take a client’s word and send a demand letter. We investigate like prosecutors. Using our Texas Hazing Intelligence Engine, we map the entire organizational structure behind a chapter. We employ digital forensics experts to recover deleted group chats and social media messages. We subpoena national fraternity records to find prior incidents and “lessons learned” that were never implemented. We build an undeniable record of negligence and foreseeability.

5. Spanish-Language Services

Mr. Peña is a fluent Spanish speaker. We are committed to serving all Texas families with dignity and clear communication, ensuring language is never a barrier to justice.

Practical Steps for Van Horn Parents and Students

If You Suspect Hazing Is Happening:

1. Talk to Your Child: Ask open-ended questions. “Are you being asked to do anything that makes you uncomfortable?” “Are you safe at your events?”
2. Look for Red Flags: Unexplained injuries, extreme fatigue, sudden weight change, becoming withdrawn or anxious, constant texting/checking phone for chapter orders, needing large sums of money for “fines” or “supplies.”
3. Educate Yourself: Understand that hazing isn’t just physical violence. Sleep deprivation, forced servitude, and psychological humiliation are all illegal.

If Hazing Has Occurred and Your Child Is Injured:

1. Seek Medical Attention Immediately: This is non-negotiable. Get a professional medical record of the injuries. Tell the doctor exactly what happened.
2. Preserve ALL Evidence:
   • Digital: Take screenshots of every relevant group chat (GroupMe, WhatsApp, text threads), social media posts, and emails. Do not delete anything. Our video on using your phone to document evidence provides critical guidance.
   • Physical: Take clear, dated photos of injuries. Save any damaged clothing or items used in the hazing.
   • Documentation: Write a timeline of events with names, dates, and locations while memories are fresh.
3. Report the Incident: You can report to the university’s Dean of Students office and campus police. You may also file a report with local police. Consult with an attorney first to understand the strategic implications.
4. Contact an Experienced Hazing Attorney Before You:
   • Give a formal statement to the university or insurance adjusters.
   • Sign any documents from the university.
   • Post about the incident on social media.
   • Allow your child to be interviewed alone by the organization or school.

Critical Mistakes That Can Harm a Case:

• Deleting evidence to “protect” friends or the chapter.
• Confronting the fraternity/sorority directly, giving them a head start to destroy evidence and align stories.
• Accepting a quick, low-ball settlement from a university or national organization’s insurance company.
• Waiting too long. Texas has a statute of limitations on personal injury claims. Learn about these critical deadlines here.

You Are Not Alone: Contact Attorney911 Today

For families in Van Horn, Marfa, Valentine, and throughout West Texas, facing a hazing crisis can feel isolating. The involved organizations may be hundreds of miles away, and the legal process seems daunting. We are here to bridge that gap.

We offer free, confidential consultations to evaluate your situation. We will listen to your story, review any evidence you have, and explain your legal options in clear, honest terms. We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay no attorney fees unless we win your case. See how this works.

Our mission is to secure justice for your child and your family, and to force the changes necessary to prevent this from happening to another student. The call you fear has already been made by other Texas parents. Let us help you navigate what comes next.

Call the Legal Emergency Lawyers™ 24/7 at 1-888-ATTY-911 (1-888-288-9911).
Se habla Español. Contacte a Lupe Peña.

Plain Text Links to Key Resources

News Coverage of the Leonel Bermudez / UH Pi Kappa Phi Case:

• Click2Houston (KPRC 2) Report: 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 (KTRK) Coverage: https://abc13.com/post/waterboarding-forced-eating-physical-punishment-lawsuit-alleges-abuse-faced-injured-pledge-uhs-pi-kappa-phi-fraternity/18186418/

Attorney911 Educational Videos:

• Documenting Evidence with Your Phone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLbpzrmogTs
• Understanding Statutes of Limitations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRHwg8tV02c
• How Contingency Fees Work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upcI_j6F7Nc

Attorney911 Main Website:

• Contact for a Free Consultation: https://attorney911.com

Legal Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Each case is unique, and no outcome can be guaranteed. Contact Attorney911 for a consultation on your specific situation. Reading this article does not create an attorney-client relationship.