A former student, and her parents, have filed a personal injury lawsuit pertaining to injuries the student sustained as a direct result from a 25-foot fall out of a fraternity window, during an underage alcohol-fueled fraternity party, as reported by the Standard-Examiner from Moscow, Idaho.
The student, A.A., along with her parents, E.B. and R.A., are seeking a trial by jury in Latah County Second District Court. Named are several Greek organizations, the Idaho State Board of Education and the University of Idaho.
The family is seeking monetary compensation for all medical, travel and other expenses.
The suit is seeking to determine whether the parties named are responsible for acts that led A.A. to fall from a third-story fraternity house window after a "tie exchange" and drinking party on September 10, 2009.
A.A., of Caldwell, Idaho, was 19 at the time of the incident and a sophomore at the UI. A member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority, she joined fellow sorority sisters at a party at Moscow campus at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.
Along with the UI and the state board, also listed in the suit are a few "John Doe" individuals that are associated with Sigma Alpha Epsilon.
In the lawsuit, it is alleged that the defendants didn't do enough to guarantee that underage drinking did not occur at the fraternities.
Delta Delta Delta, Sigmi Chi and Sigma Alpha Epsilon, as alleged in the suit, did not check the identification of students - including A.A. - before serving them alcohol.
Delta Delta Delta sorority sisters attended two UI fraternities that night for drinking parties: Sigmi Chi and Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Both fraternities were engaged in a "tie exchange" party where the women chose a date based on a randomly selected tie belonging to a yet-to-be identified man.
A.A. participated in the tie exchange.
There was also another type of party the two fraternities agreed to have called a "case exchange" that required "each participating member of (SAE) supplied a case of beer that was randomly selected by a member of a particular sorority."
During the party at Sigma Alpha Epsilon, A.A. moved up to the third floor with a friend, and the two spoke for a time before the A.A. was introduced to a male occupant of the house. Within an hour, A.A. and the man laid down on a bed that was "butted and nearly spanned an open exterior window."
During a kiss, A.A. allegedly rolled over and fell out of an open window, landed on solid concrete, and suffered extensive injuries.
Court documents read, "Today, (A.A.) suffers permanent effects of the severe traumatic brain injury and other bodily injuries she sustained after she fell ... (A.A.), however, is a fighter with strong faith, who is making progress in re-learning how to walk, speak and function as normally as she can in light of her injuries."
Allegations made against the two fraternities stated that they both "have a history of violating the rules and regulations (the UI) has established regarding the availability and consumption of alcohol by underage members and their guests."
Additionally, the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity did not keep its house in a safe condition or warn members, and visitors, of potential dangers.
As far as A.A.'s own sorority, Delta Delta Delta, they are named in the suit as upperclassmen are supposed to monitor minor underclassmen as part of sorority policy.
Has your child been hurt while on school grounds? If your child has endured an accident on campus, or at a campus-owned facility, contact a personal injury lawyer to discuss the ramifications of your case.