GreekChat.com Forums  

Go Back   GreekChat.com Forums > Risk Management - Hazing & etc.
Register FAQ Community Calendar Today's Posts Search

Risk Management - Hazing & etc. This forum covers Risk Management topics such as: Hazing, Alcohol Abuse/Awareness, Date Rape Awareness, Eating Disorder Prevention, Liability, etc.

» GC Stats
Members: 329,731
Threads: 115,666
Posts: 2,205,025
Welcome to our newest member, guldop
» Online Users: 1,253
0 members and 1,253 guests
No Members online
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 09-24-2004, 01:50 PM
hoosier hoosier is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Now hiding from GC stalkers
Posts: 3,188
Hazing/boozing lawsuits: Big settlements listed

September 23, 2004
Millions paid in hazing lawsuits


By Dave Curtin
Denver Post Staff Writer




Families of students who die after drinking at fraternity events have collected millions of dollars in wrongful-death lawsuits from the fraternities and their members.

Occasionally, a university is held liable and tagged with a multimillion-dollar settlement.

Police announced Wednesday that University of Colorado student Lynn Gordon Bailey Jr., 18, a pledge at Chi Psi, was part of an initiation ritual involving alcohol in the hours before he was found dead in the Boulder fraternity house Friday.

"My best guess is that the university would have no liability, period," said University of Denver law professor Tom Russell who teaches tort issues. "The fraternity is a private institution that is not controlled by the university. On the other hand, the fraternity itself faces substantial liability."
Advertisement


In February, a Miami-Dade County jury awarded $14 million to the parents of a drunken University of Miami freshman who drowned swimming across a lake in a Kappa Sigma hazing.

The jury found two fraternity brothers 90 percent at fault. The parents are trying to collect from the insurance policy of the fraternity and from the homeowner's policies of the fraternity brothers' parents.

"Typically a fraternity has insurance to cover such injuries, but the insurance policy may exclude coverage of illegal activities which would include serving alcohol to minors," Russell said. "If the insurance won't provide coverage, then each member of the fraternity and possibly their parents would be likely defendants."

That's exactly what happened at California State University- Chico in 2002, where eight Pi Kappa Phi fraternity brothers agreed to pay a combined $500,000 settlement in the drinking death of a freshman after an initiation ceremony.

But the university can find itself settling suits. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology agreed to pay a family $4.75 million and establish a $1.25 million scholarship fund in a settlement following the 1997 drinking death of a freshman during a Phi Gamma Delta hazing.

MIT had argued that the university cannot be held responsible for the actions of students in privately owned houses such as fraternity houses. "We cannot monitor a student's behavior 24 hours a day," Rosalind H. Williams, the school's dean of students said at the time.

In another case, Iona College in New Rochelle, N.Y., was dismissed from a $21 million lawsuit in 2000 in the alcohol-hazing death of a student. "The law is very clear: When you're in college, you must own up to your own actions," Iona attorney Anthony Dougherty told the New York Post.

Staff writer Dave Curtin can be reached at 303-820-1276 or at dcurtin@denverpost.com .
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 09-24-2004, 03:15 PM
DeltAlum DeltAlum is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Mile High America
Posts: 17,088
Nothing here that hasn't been said before...

It is too bad that folks who are supposed to be adults don't take into account the potential position they put not only themselves but their Chapter, Nationals, advisors, school and even potentially their parents in.

Being found liable can ruin a whole lot of lives.
__________________
Fraternally,
DeltAlum
DTD
The above is the opinion of the poster which may or may not be based in known facts and does not necessarily reflect the views of Delta Tau Delta or Greek Chat -- but it might.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 09-24-2004, 03:45 PM
oncelurked oncelurked is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 136
True, but what liability education do new members get? I certainly never got any as a new member. It was only as an officer and now as an alumna that I have any clue. Maybe liability education is in order for chapters as a whole.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 09-24-2004, 03:49 PM
DeltAlum DeltAlum is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Mile High America
Posts: 17,088
I can't say that it always happens, but there is supposed to be a Risk Management discussion at Chapter in every Delt chapter every year.

And each Delt Chapter should have a Risk Management chairman, who should report at every meeting.

Sounds good on paper, anyway.
__________________
Fraternally,
DeltAlum
DTD
The above is the opinion of the poster which may or may not be based in known facts and does not necessarily reflect the views of Delta Tau Delta or Greek Chat -- but it might.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 09-24-2004, 06:08 PM
Kevin Kevin is offline
Super Moderator
 
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Posts: 18,668
Quote:
Originally posted by oncelurked
True, but what liability education do new members get? I certainly never got any as a new member. It was only as an officer and now as an alumna that I have any clue. Maybe liability education is in order for chapters as a whole.
We hold a mandatory session where we review our risk management policy every semester with our actives.

Also, we deal with any even near violations pretty severely.

It's worked so far
__________________
SN -SINCE 1869-
"EXCELLING WITH HONOR"
S N E T T
Mu Tau 5, Central Oklahoma
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 09-24-2004, 06:45 PM
oncelurked oncelurked is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 136
I applaud both the Delts and Sigma Nus for their education efforts.
I honestly don't know what education is out there for different organizations. I just know that it was something that was not viewed with much seriousness on my campus. I am fairly certain there were a number of orgs where I was an undergrad that do no liability education. Not risk management per se, but who is liable and why. I realize that liability and risk management go hand in hand and that risk management goes beyond liability, but often, the risk management that was thought of on my campus never had anything to do with liability and suing and lawyers - it had more to do with what actions an org took that would result in disciplinary action from the school.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 09-24-2004, 07:18 PM
AGDee AGDee is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Michigan
Posts: 15,821
I think that two things happen which interfere with the education of liability at the chapter level. First is the "It won't happen to me" focus of older adolescents and young adults. Second is selective hearing. It is not what they want to hear, so they don't hear it.

Dee
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 09-24-2004, 08:21 PM
DeltAlum DeltAlum is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Mile High America
Posts: 17,088
Quote:
Originally posted by AGDee
I think that two things happen which interfere with the education of liability at the chapter level. First is the "It won't happen to me" focus of older adolescents and young adults. Second is selective hearing. It is not what they want to hear, so they don't hear it.

Dee
Yep. Sometimes until it's too late.
__________________
Fraternally,
DeltAlum
DTD
The above is the opinion of the poster which may or may not be based in known facts and does not necessarily reflect the views of Delta Tau Delta or Greek Chat -- but it might.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 09-25-2004, 04:13 PM
Tom Earp Tom Earp is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Kansas City, Kansas USA
Posts: 23,584
Thumbs up

LXA is deat on Rish Management for sure.

If it comes to light with International they are visited and told no way, give seminars and placed on probation until they have proven themselves. If not, simple Charter is take and they are out of business. Period.

Unfortunatly ASU found that out two years after the fact and supposedly trying to get things back on an even keel.

No matter what Risk management is in GreekDom Lives and it costs each Greek Organization a lot of money that can be spent on other things.
__________________
LCA


LX Z # 1
Alumni
Reply With Quote
Reply


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -4. The time now is 08:29 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, vBulletin Solutions Inc.