Practice Areas
Hazing
Holding fraternities, sororities, sports programs, and the organizations behind them accountable for hazing injuries and deaths.
Overview
It was never a rite of passage. It was abuse.
Hazing is dressed up as tradition, brotherhood, or toughening up, but what it actually produces is hospitalized pledges, traumatized teammates, and grieving families. Forced drinking, beatings, sleep deprivation, and dangerous rituals are not accidents. They are organized conduct, and someone organized it.
Responsibility rarely stops with the members in the room. National fraternities and sororities, local chapters, coaches and athletic programs, schools, and chapter housing entities can all bear responsibility when they knew about hazing, tolerated it, or failed to enforce the rules they wrote for exactly this danger. Evan brings direct experience here, including work on a high-profile hazing case against one of the largest fraternities in the world.
These organizations investigate and defend themselves quickly, and records have a way of disappearing. Moving early, and knowing where the institutional evidence lives, is a large part of what these cases require.
What we investigate
Getting to what really happened
Hazing cases are about what the organization knew and tolerated. We dig into:
- The events themselves, and who planned, directed, and participated
- Prior hazing incidents, complaints, and discipline in the organization
- What the national organization, school, or program knew and did
- Anti-hazing policies on paper versus practices in reality
- Group messages, social media, and internal communications
- Alcohol, coercion, and the conditions that caused the harm
How we help
Standing up to the organization
Victims and families face institutions built to protect themselves. We level it:
- Act quickly to preserve messages, records, and witness accounts
- Identify every responsible party, from individuals to national organizations
- Navigate parallel criminal proceedings and school investigations
- Handle the case with the discretion victims and families deserve
- Pursue full accountability and fair compensation for the harm
The information on this page is general and not legal advice. Every situation is different. Contact us to discuss the specifics of your case.
Common questions
Hazing questions, answered
General answers to what people ask most. Every case is different, and this is not legal advice. For guidance about your situation, please reach out.
Who can be held responsible for hazing besides the people involved?
Potentially many parties: the local chapter or team, the national fraternity or sorority, housing corporations, coaches and program officials, and in some circumstances the school itself. Liability often turns on what the organization knew about hazing and what it did, or failed to do, about it.
Is hazing illegal in Alabama?
Yes. Alabama law prohibits hazing, and a civil claim can proceed regardless of whether anyone is criminally charged or convicted. The civil case is about accountability and compensation for the person who was harmed, and it belongs to the victim and their family, not the state.
Does it matter that my child agreed to participate?
This is a real issue in Alabama, and you deserve a straight answer about it. Organizations argue that a pledge or teammate consented to or assumed the risk of hazing, and the Alabama Supreme Court has in fact held, in at least one case, that a pledge’s voluntary participation barred his recovery. That makes how these cases are investigated and framed enormously important: the coercion, the power dynamics, the organization’s own rules against hazing, and the facts that take a case outside that defense. It is a reason to talk to a lawyer early, not a reason to assume you have no case.
What should we do if we suspect hazing caused an injury or death?
Get medical care, preserve everything, including texts, photos, group chats, and names of those present, and be careful with early conversations with the organization or its insurers. Then talk to a lawyer promptly. Evidence in these cases disappears fast, and deadlines apply.
Free, confidential consultation
Talk to a lawyer who will listen
Tell us what happened. We will review your situation and give you an honest read on your options, with no obligation.