Parents of LSU student who died after hazing get $6.1 million
The parents of a Louisiana State University student who died in 2017 after an on-campus hazing event were awarded $6.1 million by a jury in Baton Rouge, La., according to the family’s attorney.
The student, Maxwell Gruver, 18, of Roswell, Georgia, died the day after participating in a Phi Delta Theta brotherhood ritual that involved pledging to take several three- to five-second sips from a bottle of Diesel, a 190-proof drink, according to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana.
According to court documents, an autopsy determined that Mr. Gruver had a blood alcohol content of 0.495 percent, which is more than six times the legal limit in the state for drivers over the age of 21.
On Wednesday, the jury reached a verdict in the case against one of the former fraternity members and his insurance company, the attorney, Jonathon Fazzola, who works for the Fierberg National Law Group, said during a telephone interview.
The family, he added, had already received a “significant sum” of money from settlements reached with the 17 other defendants initially named in the civil suit, including Louisiana State University and the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He said the family intended to use the money to support the mission Max Gruver Foundationan organization founded by his parents that aims to end hazing on college campuses.
According to court documents, $6 million was awarded to the parents of Mr. Gruver for damages suffered as a result of the death of their son. An additional $100,000 was awarded to them for the “pain and suffering, fear, anxiety, or mental anguish” Mr. Gruver endured during the episode and up to his death.
Neither the university nor the fraternity could be reached for comment on Sunday evening.
In 2019, Matthew Naquin, a former Louisiana State University student, was convicted of negligent homicide for his role in Mr. Gruver’s death. Prosecutors argued that he had acted as a ringleader during the hazing, which they said required promises to stand in a dark hallway facing a wall with a strobe light flashing and loud music playing.
Mr Gruver’s parents, Stephen and Rae Ann Gruver, said the jury’s award in the civil case reflected how much damage their son’s “senseless and avoidable” death had done to their family.
“While the verdict cannot – and never will – repair that loss, it is another important step in our mission to end hazing,” they added in a statement from Mr Fazzola. “We are thankful that the jury understood that Max and his pledge brothers had no real choice and were not guilty of the hell they had to go through. And, significantly, in its verdict, the jury disproved the idea that being a mere spectator of hazing absolves a fraternity member of responsibility.
In 2018, the year after Mr. Gruver’s death, the Louisiana Legislature passed the Max Gruver Law, the introduction of a national definition of hazing, as well as measures for prevention. Under the law, hazing is considered a crime.