(CBS DETROIT) – A former Michigan State University student has filed a lawsuit alleging fraternity hazing that led to him being hospitalized in 2021.
The lawsuit, filed Oct. 17 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, named Lambda Phi Epsilon Fraternity Inc., MSU Associate Chapter of Lambda Phi Epsilon Fraternity and three fraternity members.
One of the members named in the lawsuit served as property manager.
The student says he has suffered mental and physical problems related to the alleged hazing and continues to receive medical treatment, according to the lawsuit.
Lambda Phi Epsilon Fraternity, Inc. did not respond to CBS News Detroit’s request for comment. The organization’s website states that hazing is strictly prohibited and that no chapter “participates in any form of hazing of its prospective members.”
According to the lawsuit, the former MSU student from Massachusetts claims the pledge master forced him and other pledges to smoke “dangerous amounts of marijuana.”
The lawsuit alleges that other members of the fraternity knew of the plan to enforce the pledges and “took no action to prevent or stop these activities, even though they constituted hazing under Michigan law and posed a foreseeable risk of harm and injury to (the MSU student) and violated the Member Code of Conduct and the MSU RSO Handbook.”
The student claims that over a 48-hour period he began to feel lethargic and unable to walk, prompting him to be taken to the emergency room, according to the lawsuit. The student also claims he developed symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, severe headaches and hearing voices, and doctors determined he was suffering from substance intoxication related to the incident.
The complaint alleges that the student was readmitted to the hospital multiple times between October 31, 2021, and November 6, 2021, and was diagnosed with “altered mental status.”
After he was dismissed, student claims members told him he was “falling behind” in the pledging process and needed to catch up on other pledging commitments,” the lawsuit said.
According to the lawsuit, the student returned to the hospital on Nov. 17, 2021, after being forced to do activities, such as gymnastics, despite telling members he felt sick.
Doctors diagnosed him with exertional rhabdomyolysis, “a serious and potentially life-threatening medical condition that occurs when damaged muscle tissue breaks down, enters the bloodstream and releases toxic components of the broken down muscle fibers into the blood, resulting in possible damage to the muscles.” the kidneys and heart, and, if left untreated, permanent disability or death,” the lawsuit states.
According to the complaint, the student remained in the hospital for seven days and required surgery to treat appendicitis in September 2022.
He says he reported the alleged hazing in December 2021.
