Sigma Nu chapter at Alabama sued over knife injuries..

[ZetaPhi708]

For more information, please read the link:

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_109623.asp

[FSUZeta]

i thought i remembered this happening at bama, not uab. i am truly sorry to learn that the young man did not make a full recovery.

[ZetaPhi708]

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

i thought i remembered this happening at bama, not uab. i am truly sorry to learn that the young man did not make a full recovery.

Hmmm...the article states University of Alabama, which is usually UAB. If I have the school wrong, please let me know and I will edit my post. Thanks.

I looked up the UAB website and they do not list a chapter of Sigma Nu there. I will edit my first posting.

[banditone]

UAB usually means University of Alabama Birmingham.
UA is Bama.

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060913/NEWS/609130323/1007/NEWS02

It says he was a member of the fraternity.... At this chapter, and was working to remove the assaulter from the party. Nice job by the lawyer to find some extra people to sue. (I bet Theta chapter settles)

I feel bad for this kid, and I hope the guy that actually assaulted him pays dearly for such a stupid action.
On an extremely selfish note; I sure hope they don't shut down Theta chapter over this (our Nationals has been a bit trigger happy lately)

[Kevin]

The articles says nothing about UAB. It's University of Alabama all the way.

What I see there is a different version of the facts than I've heard before. My understanding was that the injured party was volunteering to help out with security. He was a former candidate or something. It's also interesting because the stabbing happened outside of fraternity property and was perpetrated by someone who the injured party was helping to kick out because they weren't on the guest list.

At any rate, this is why we have guest lists at parties. It's bad news for everyone involved.

[banditone]

http://media.www.cw.ua.edu/media/sto...-2867155.shtml

Witness Testimony:
http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_58233.asp

[UGAalum94]

It's not that I actually want or expect the fraternity to lose the case, but I imagine that the family is hoping to get enough money to care for their brain damaged son, rather than looking for anything punitive or having a personal-injury-suit-as-lottery-ticket mentality.

If it is true that he is as disabled as the stories present, the family confronts a real problem, especially upon the death of his parents. If the guy can't live independently, what will they do?

It would seem to me that the fraternity probably does have insurance, but that the family is going to have to prove that the fraternity is responsible, and I think it might be pretty hard.

If you don't have it already, all of us should probably look into long term disability insurance. We don't think we're going to need it, but I bet if this guy had it, there'd be no suit.

I wonder how expensive it would be for a national group to offer it to members?

[banditone]

What I think is sad is that I would think this lawsuit will stop any goodwill fundraising for the victim. And that is a shame; he may have gotten that longterm care w/out the lawyer. We'll see.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by AlphaGamUGAAlum

If the guy can't live independently, what will they do?

Set up a trust for the kid's benefit. When that runs out, medicaid takes over.

It would seem to me that the fraternity probably does have insurance, but that the family is going to have to prove that the fraternity is responsible, and I think it might be pretty hard.

I agree. I don't see how the fraternity as an organization has a duty to protect a non-active member (as I think the victim was) from being stabbed by someone the victim and the fraternity had evicted from a party earlier that evening. I just don't see how the victim had the sort of relationship with the chapter which gives rise to such an assumption of liability. My feeling is that if the chapter wanted to settle, that would have already happened. The victim's suit as to the fraternity look very weak.

It's really too bad what happened to this kid. It's too bad that the attacker is probably judgment proof. That doesn't mean that the victim can sue everyone in sight (and win).

If you don't have it already, all of us should probably look into long term disability insurance. We don't think we're going to need it, but I bet if this guy had it, there'd be no suit.

Disability insurance is important if you have a lot of assets. Otherwise, there's Medicaid/Social Security.

I wonder how expensive it would be for a national group to offer it to members?

The victim was a non-member. If the national organizations thought they could make some money selling this sort of insurance, they'd probably be in that business.

[UGAalum94]

ETA: this was to Banditone, but I didn't think to quote.


Of course I don't know, but I'd think he could get a lot more money from the suit if he wins than they would have been looking at in fundraisers.

Had the chapter or GLO already had fundraisers for the guy? If so, you may be on to something. If not, it's hard to figure out why the family should have thought they would start.

(I know it's all probably very weird because the fraternity may have been advised right from the start to not do anything that made it look like they thought they were responsible. But if they didn't reach out to the family, then it's pretty easy to figure out why the family decided to sue the people most likely to have money, rather than the guy most responsible who probably doesn't have anything to collect.)

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Set up a trust for the kid's benefit. When that runs out, medicaid takes over.

I agree. I don't see how the fraternity as an organization has a duty to protect a non-active member (as I think the victim was) from being stabbed by someone the victim and the fraternity had evicted from a party earlier that evening. I just don't see how the victim had the sort of relationship with the chapter which gives rise to such an assumption of liability. My feeling is that if the chapter wanted to settle, that would have already happened. The victim's suit as to the fraternity look very weak.

It's really too bad what happened to this kid. It's too bad that the attacker is probably judgment proof. That doesn't mean that the victim can sue everyone in sight (and win).

Disability insurance is important if you have a lot of assets. Otherwise, there's Medicaid/Social Security.

The victim was a non-member. If the national organizations thought they could make some money selling this sort of insurance, they'd probably be in that business.

Several of the articles say he was a member, but you'd know more than I since it's your group.

The family has to have the money for a trust to set one up. Maybe they do; I don't know.

But I know I'd sure want my family better taken care of than by what Medicaid would cover, and I think it's silly to think that for most college graduates that Medicaid/social security is going to come close to paying you what you are used to living on.

If you are fully disabled, by the very definition, you can't work anymore. The medical bills are only part of the financial problem.

It also surprised me based on your previous posts that you support relying on the state rather than accepting personal responsibility for buying disability insurance as the way to go.

ETA: my suggestion about the GLO offering disability insurance was not so they could profit from it simply by selling it. But if all members of the group had it, there'd be a whole lot less reason to sue the group if you were injured at a group event. And again, some stories are saying he was a member.

Most of them describe him as a former member. I don't know what that really means. Did he resign? Did he pledge but never get initiated?

All the stories note that they are suing for punitive damages as well.

[shinerbock]

I remember hearing about this the night it happened. Pretty terrible story. I wonder what happened to the person who stabbed him.

Edit: see that he pled guilty to 1st degree assault.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by shinerbock

I remember hearing about this the night it happened. Pretty terrible story. I wonder what happened to the person who stabbed him.

He pled guilty to first degree assault and is also being sued.

But, and I'm making some rather un-PC assumptions here, I'm willing to bet that adult non-students who crash fraternity parties where they know no one to steal beer and who also end up stabbing somebody, generally don't have the net worth to even pay for a 1/2 day at the Shepard Center.

ETA: I didn't see that you already added.

[shinerbock]

Originally Posted by AlphaGamUGAAlum

He pled guilty to first degree assault and is also being sued.

But, and I'm making some rather un-PC assumptions here, I'm willing to bet that adult non-students who crash fraternity parties where they know no one to steal beer and who also end up stabbing somebody, generally don't have the net worth to even pay for a 1/2 at the Shepard Center.

ETA: I didn't see that you already added.

Probably a safe assumption.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by AlphaGamUGAAlum

Several of the articles say he was a member, but you'd know more than I since its your group.

I haven't done anything to check on this kid's membership status and I don't imagine I will. As a "former member," I imagine that either the newspaper writer didn't understand the fact that an alumnus is a current member.. even a dead person is a current member, so if the newspaper got the kid's status right, he's either a pledge who didn't make it or someone who was booted for disciplinary reasons.

The family has to have the money for a trust to set one up. Maybe they do; I don't know.

Me neither. I hope their PI lawyer is doing double duty setting up a guardianship or whatever needs to be done. I seriously have to question their lawyer's competence since he first brought suit in federal court based on diversity without complete diversity of the parties... that's 1st semester civil procedure.

But I know I'd sure want my family better taken care of than by what Medicaid would cover, and I think it's silly to think that for most college graduates that Medicaid/social security is going to come close to paying you what you are used to living on.

So would I.. it's just that people who aren't legally at fault ought not be accountable for this. Sometimes bad things happen to good people.

If you are fully disabled, by the very definition, you can't work anymore. The medical bills are only part of the financial problem.

Not if you're a ward of the state. I imagine the victim here is going to be fully disabled. I know disabled children of families with SERIOUS money who are living off of Medicaid/state benefits because those kids themselves are fully disabled.

It also surprised me based on your previous posts that you support relying on the state rather than accepting personal responsibility for buying disability insurance as the way to go.

You haven't read my previous posts then. The state, in my opinion, has a duty to provide for those who are physically or mentally unable to provide for themselves. That makes pretty good sense.. In effect, the Medicaid tax taken out of our paychecks is disability insurance.

ETA: my suggestion about the GLO offering disability insurance was not so they could profit from it simply by selling it. But if all members of the group had it, there'd be a whole lot less reason to sue the group if you were injured at a group event. And again, some stories are saying he was a member.

Of course there'd be. Disability insurance is not liability insurance. In fact, if a person were covered by such insurance, the insurance company would probably bring suit against the fraternity if there were any hope of getting some money for the fraternity's liability.

All the stories note that they are suing for punitive damages as well.

Maybe against the attacker. Against the fraternity? That's a laugh. I don't know much about Alabama law, but when liability is itself in question, any basis for punitive damages is going to probably be pretty specious. Most states have statutes which limit the heck out of liability damages -- especially in the south. It's very early in this suit. Based on what I've read so far, the part of the suit pertaining to the fraternity ought to be tossed out. As I've said before, if that was not the case, there'd probably already be a settlement.