A Pennsylvania jury has awarded the estate of a college student who died in a hazing incident nearly $8 million, handing a significant blow to the national sorority involved.
Justin King, 18, was attending a fraternity rush event at Alpha Sigma Tau's house when he consumed large amounts of alcohol and fell off a rocky ledge, plummeting 75 feet down to his death. An autopsy found that his blood alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit.
King's family has already reached settlements with other parties involved in the incident, but they pursued the Alpha Sigma Tau national sorority as the only defendant at trial.
The lawsuit claimed that the sorority ignored policy violations, including hazing and underage drinking, for years prior to King's death. The jury ultimately allocated 35% responsibility to the sorority, meaning it will have to pay $2.73 million in damages.
Meanwhile, the Kappa Sigma fraternity was found responsible for 35% of King's death, while one fraternity member was blamed for a mere 1%. King himself bore 24% of the blame, and six other members were also partially at fault.
The verdict has been met with criticism from Alpha Sigma Tau, which claims that it is "disappointed" in the jury's finding. However, the student's estate lawyer says the award highlights the need for corporate responsibility on college campuses.
"It makes clear that national Greek organizations cannot turn a blind eye to rampant drinking and policy violations," said the lawyer.
The incident occurred in 2019 and has led to renewed calls for greater accountability from university administrations and Greek organizations when it comes to hazing incidents.
Justin King, 18, was attending a fraternity rush event at Alpha Sigma Tau's house when he consumed large amounts of alcohol and fell off a rocky ledge, plummeting 75 feet down to his death. An autopsy found that his blood alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit.
King's family has already reached settlements with other parties involved in the incident, but they pursued the Alpha Sigma Tau national sorority as the only defendant at trial.
The lawsuit claimed that the sorority ignored policy violations, including hazing and underage drinking, for years prior to King's death. The jury ultimately allocated 35% responsibility to the sorority, meaning it will have to pay $2.73 million in damages.
Meanwhile, the Kappa Sigma fraternity was found responsible for 35% of King's death, while one fraternity member was blamed for a mere 1%. King himself bore 24% of the blame, and six other members were also partially at fault.
The verdict has been met with criticism from Alpha Sigma Tau, which claims that it is "disappointed" in the jury's finding. However, the student's estate lawyer says the award highlights the need for corporate responsibility on college campuses.
"It makes clear that national Greek organizations cannot turn a blind eye to rampant drinking and policy violations," said the lawyer.
The incident occurred in 2019 and has led to renewed calls for greater accountability from university administrations and Greek organizations when it comes to hazing incidents.
. and now this poor kid is dead because of it... $8 million doesn't even begin to cover the pain & suffering his family's going through. gotta say, i'm glad they finally got some justice out of this 
, but it's also super disheartening that these orgs think they can just sweep things under the rug 
. university admins need to step up their game too, 'cause those Greek orgs are just a bunch of bad influences 
.
. $8 million is a huge sum of money, but what can really make up for losing a child? 
It's just not fair that the sorority has to pay out such a massive fine, considering they've already settled with other parties involved.
. These orgs have been ignoring policy violations for years and it's only a matter of time before someone gets seriously hurt or worse 
. This verdict is a huge wake-up call for them.
. Until they start taking hazing incidents seriously and holding their members accountable, more lives will keep getting lost 
.
The Kappa Sigma fraternity member who was found guilty of just 1%? That's like, so unfair. I'm glad the jury held them accountable too.
I mean, I don't know what to think about this... First of all, $8 million is like a lot of money, but at the same time, it's not that much considering how tragic King's death was 
. I'm kinda disappointed in Alpha Sigma Tau for denying any responsibility, like they're trying to shift the blame or something 
.
At the same time, I feel bad for King's family and all, but 35% responsibility on Alpha Sigma Tau isn't that much, you know? It's still $2.73 million, which is like... a lot 
.
. And what really grinds my gears is that they're already saying it's a "settlement" rather than an actual guilty verdict 
.
. I mean, come on, you can't just ignore policy violations and expect no one gets hurt 
. They've got the resources and the influence to make some real changes. The fact that the student himself bore 24% of the blame is just wrong 
. It's like he was seen as a scapegoat or something.
. We need better protocols in place for reporting hazing incidents, and we need more robust consequences for those who enable it 
. Anything less just won't cut it.
. The fact that the jury found them responsible for 35% of King's death is, like, a total win for his family 
.
. We need more cases like this to make universities and campuses take hazing incidents seriously 
. It's about time justice is served for Justin King and his family 
. And what's with the way they tried to shift the blame? 35% responsibility on them? That's still a lot of money, if you ask me 
The stats are crazy! Justin King's blood alcohol level was like 3x the limit 
We need to hold these orgs accountable for their actions. I mean, $2.73 million isn't exactly chump change 
