Insurance Company Suing Sigma Chi (U of Georgia alleged incident)

[minDyG]

I guess I just have such a different outlook on things like this. I can't remember EVER getting hurt and thinking to myself "I should sue" anyone. I fell off my swingset when I was six, and got a concussion. My parents didn't sue Fischer-Price. I fell out of the tree house at a friend's house when I was seven and sprained my wrist, and my parents didn't sue her parents. And I have fallen down when I've been overly intoxicated, banging up my knees, and it has never occurred to me to sue the bar that "over served" me. ESPECIALLY not when I knew in good conscience that I had no business being in a bar when I was under the age of 21.

I'm not trying to say that it's the girl's fault necessarily that this happened, but if you make the choice to go to a fraternity party, and then you make the choice to get drunk (I'm sure nobody was forcing drinks down her throat), and then you get hurt, maybe you should chalk it up to a life lesson in responsibility. I don't know, that's just my take on the situation. I'm sure others have probably thought the same thing, and maybe it doesn't have any bearing on the suit whatsoever, but like I said, those are just my thoughts.

[Kevin]

Uh...

Unlike the plaintiff in this case, you weren't an invited guest at someone's party who became overly intoxicated, was taken back to a boy's room, undressed, placed on a top bunk bed so he could come back and "sleep with you." you weren't left alone in this state where you unconsciously rolled over and fell out of bed causing tens of thousands of dollars of damage to your face, teeth, mandible, not to mention nerve damage, humiliation, pain and suffering, etc.

No doubt her parents didn't feel like they should be on the hook for the medical bills so they talked to a lawyer. Alternatively, they were never given a choice because their daughter's insurance company (rather than the daughter) is bringing suit against Sigma Chi, Sigma Chi's insurance, and probably several young men from the UGA chapter.

Your situation doesn't come remotely close to hers, you suffered no serious damages, and to say that she should chalk up receiving serious injuries from a fall when she was in someone else's care is something she should chalk up to "life experience" is actually kind of dumb.

I'm sure you're a smart person, just not in post #16 on this thread

[minDyG]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Alternatively, they were never given a choice because their daughter's insurance company (rather than the daughter) is bringing suit against Sigma Chi, Sigma Chi's insurance, and probably several young men from the UGA chapter.

This was the only part of your post I hadn't considered. So thanks for addressing it, because it does kind of shed some new light on the situation (for me at least).

I'm sure you're a smart person

Indeed.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by minDyG

This was the only part of your post I hadn't considered. So thanks for addressing it, because it does kind of shed some new light on the situation (for me at least).

Indeed.

Normally, I'm looking at things from the personal responsibility lens, too. But I wasn't expecting that the be the standard here, especially because she was served alcohol underage.

[Psi U MC Vito]

You know, the fact that she was knowingly served alcohol underage then set up to be raped was the reason the insurance company not wanting to pay. But why sue Sigma Chi instead of just dropping them or refusing the claim?

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito

You know, the fact that she was knowingly served alcohol underage then set up to be raped was the reason the insurance company not wanting to pay. But why sue Sigma Chi instead of just dropping them or refusing the claim?

Okay, I'm belatedly drawing my personal line in discussing this before "set her up to be raped." Yes, if someone is really impaired, she can't really consent, but the guy didn't have sex with her (no one did) and while taking of her dress goes along with sex, it also goes along with the possibility of sleeping or keeping her from puking on it. We have only one side of the story here. We don't know that she was set up to be raped the same way we're pretty sure she was served alcohol underage.

And the serving alcohol to her deal is probably enough for the insurance company to deny the claim. I don't they were or could be insured for the harm that comes up with they over-serve underaged guests.

My guess is that dropping Sigma Chi now wouldn't get them out of a claim from before they dropped them, and I also guess that they have refused the claim, but they want to court to make that clear, and they aren't willing to wait around for Sigma Chi to sue them to resolve it. But of course, I don't know

[Psi U MC Vito]

That would make sense, and you are right in that I was assuming. However from what I read of the article, he intended to return to "sleep with her" which is why I said that she was set up to be rapped.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito

That would make sense, and you are right in that I was assuming. However from what I read of the article, he intended to return to "sleep with her" which is why I said that she was set up to be raped.

Right, but we only have one account. We don't know who said it, and we don't know if "sleep with" is being used euphemistically or if he really simply intended to sleep with her in his own bed.

If he had purely predatory intentions, it's hard to figure out why he left her there for 45 minutes or whatever the article says, during which she fell off the loft. Or maybe he's the world's least effective rapist or really likes to procrastinate.

But I think the Sigma Chis are pretty good guys, in general as far as I know, and while they handled getting her help after the injuries pretty stupidly, I don't know if I'm ready to make the leap from dumbass but relatively normal behavior to actually malicious behavior. Either way, I think at least some of the guys in that chapter are going to be held responsible for what happened to her.

[Psi U MC Vito]

ok good point, and I really should have considered my words better.

Your right though in that at least some of the members will be disciplined. The president, whoever invited her, who ever gave a minor alcohol, the RM so on, so on. Does anybody know if there are criminal charges going out?

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito

ok good point, and I really should have considered my words better.

Your right though in that at least some of the members will be disciplined. The president, whoever invited her, who ever gave a minor alcohol, the RM so on, so on. Does anybody know if there are criminal charges going out?

I don't know, but I doubt it. Girls being willingly served alcohol at private fraternity parties is probably pretty low down on the UGA police's list, and that's probably the only thing that jumps out at me as clearly being something they could easily be charged with.

The other stuff are bad decisions for sure, but I think they'd be more likely to be handled with a law suit.

[exlurker]

Update or Follow-up Article July 29 '09

Some follow-up by the Red and Black (July 29 '09 online edition)

http://media.www.redandblack.com/med...-3753177.shtml

Excerpts:

The University chapter of Sigma Chi Fraternity was put on probation after hosting a party where they served alcohol to minors and ignored risk management protocol, which resulted in severe injuries to one partygoer.

. . . As a result of the fraternity's probation, they will be allowed to hold only seven social events where alcohol is served, in addition to informal tailgates during football season. Members of the fraternity will also be required to attend several educational programs, according to the organization's informal resolution agreement.

The fraternity member named in the lawsuit as having invited the woman to the party has also been put on probation for alcohol related misconduct after being arrested by University Police and charged with underage possession of alcohol and possession of a fake ID. . . .

[Psi U MC Vito]

WTF? That's some soft probation.

[exlurker]

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito

WTF? That's some soft probation.

Yeah, I wondered about that myself. Since I have no personal experience of the UGA campus and its Greek scene, though, I guess I can't really say. A penalty that might be a slap on the wrist or a wag of a finger at one school might be devastating at another.

[UGAalum94]

"My son was invited to a fraternity house Monday night where he was offered a beer and witnessed alcoholic beverages being consumed," one parent said in an e-mail. "I thought you might want to know this and warn these kids to be careful in how they conduct themselves."

This comment from a parent email to Greek Life made me laugh. Sure, I guess the guy shouldn't have been offered a beer, but the other part about witnessing alcohol being consumed at a fraternity house hardly seems worthy of comment. And it amuses me more that the parent thought it was something to react to than it probably should. I hope the kid doesn't go to the Georgia-Florida game for goodness sake.

As far as the probation, it does seem kind of light, but I'd guess unless the university wanted to make an example of them because this girl got hurt, the people deciding the case had to know that this is pretty run of the mill behavior. And lets be honest, it probably is. College kids drink underage. College guys will serve drinks to under-aged girls. It would probably be really hard to come down hard in the case knowing that you would either turn a blind eye to all the other groups doing the same thing OR take on some obligation for supervising or policing more closely.

The other factor is that Sigma Chi probably hasn't been in even a smidgen of trouble since they came back onto campus. (I'm not sure what year, but they were off campus the entire time I was at UGA.) The university probably has a system that builds based on the number of offenses.

[LaneSig]

^^

Sigma Chi was originally chartered at Georgia in 1872. They left campus in 1990 and were re-chartered in 1996.