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The lawyers for Nicholas Mauricio, a former Florida State University student who was injured in April during a hazing ritual, have sued the
Alpha Epsilon Pi and several of its members due to the incident.
According to the suit, Mauricio was named the “Scumbag of the Week” by the fraternity and his punishment was to be slapped in the face by members of the fraternity.
However, the suit says that instead of getting slapped, Mauricio was punched in the face, fell backward and struck his head. Mauricio suffered a fractured skull and brain bleeds as a result of the incident.
At this time, AEPi remains suspended at Florida State and four students face misdemeanor hazing charges.
via WTXL:
The suit alleges that Mauricio spent five days in the ICU at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital and still has several medical issues, to include permanent brain damage. The document states that Mauricio has be unable to return to school since the incident.
Eight fraternity members, to include the fraternity’s president, vice president, and pledge master, are also named in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges the named members, along with the fraternity organization as a whole, were negligent and vicariously liable for what happened to Mauricio.
This is the latest major fraternity or sorority investigation, suspension, closure or lawsuit in the last couples of years, as schools such as Indiana University, the University of Michigan, Ohio State University, Texas State, Florida State, Ball State, Louisiana State and Penn State have all suspended fraternities in the wake of hazing and alcohol deaths.
These reports come amidst similar allegations that have been made against fraternities nationwide, including Sigma Alpha Epsilon at East Carolina University, who was shut down for hazing and the Lambda Chi Alpha chapter at the University of Arkansas which has been accused of taking sexually explicit photographs of women without their permission.
In response to incidents like these, fraternities such Phi Kappa Psi have made numerous changes to their code of conduct in an effort to address the issues that have arisen. In addition, schools such as Texas State, West Virginia University, and Penn State University have introduced new Greek Life rules to try and prevent these problems.
