Attorney for MU freshman hospitalized hopes lawsuit deters future hazing
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) -
An attorney for the family suing the MU chapter of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity hopes the legal action gets groups to stop forced drinking.
The lawsuit from the family of Danny Santulli claims members of the fraternity, often called Fiji, made the freshman drink a bottle of vodka in order to join in Oct. 2021. The event left Santulli with alcohol poisoning, which attorney David Bianchi said he still is recovering from.
"Danny is unable to communicate, cannot walk, he's unresponsive, although he has been making some improvements, he has suffered significant brain damage," Bianchi told ABC 17 News. "And this is going to be a problem for him the rest of his life and a problem for his family, too."
Bianchi described the Santulli's, from Eden Prairie, Minn., as a great family, and Danny as a great son. The family had sent their two other children to MU, as well.
The lawsuit in Boone County names the national organization as well as several individual members of the chapter. The University of Missouri suspended Fiji shortly after Santulli went to the hospital. The suspension led to protests outside the fraternity house in October.
The lawsuit claims Santulli went through a grueling process to join the fraternity. Bianchi said members made him get them things like food and alcohol at all hours of the day. The lawsuit claims that Santulli was once made to climb into a trash can, where he cut himself on broken glass.
The lawsuit said that on Oct. 19, Santulli and other pledges went into the house's basement to learn who their "pledge father" would be in the organization. When that "pledge father," or member of the group, revealed themselves, they also gave the prospective members a bottle of alcohol considered their "family bottle." Bianchi said the new members were expected to finish the entire bottle in order to join.
The lawsuit claims people in the fraternity house found Santulli the next morning passed out partially on the couch. He had pale skin and blue lips, according to the lawsuit, and members put him in a personal car to go to the hospital. There, hospital staff needed to perform CPR to restart his heart and put him on a ventilator to breathe. The lawsuit said Santulli had a .468 blood alcohol content.
Bianchi, who has handled cases of fraternity hazing before, said Santulli's injuries are some of the worst he's seen. He said the combination of alcohol, peer pressure and an attempt to uphold fraternity traditions often leads to these types of injuries. He said more rules and policies won't prevent these things from happening, but instead hopes schools and fraternities will take incidents seriously.
"The rules and regulations are on the books," Bianchi said. "It's just that people don't comply with them and they're not enforced. And that's where the disconnect is."
Rob Caudill, executive director of Fiji, told ABC 17 News it was still reviewing the lawsuit.
"The chapter at the University of Missouri is suspended by the International Fraternity and we continue to provide support and cooperation when requested by local authorities as they pursue their investigation," Caudill said. "We expect all chapters and members to follow the law and abide by the Fraternity’s policies which prohibit hazing and the provision of alcohol to minors."
The family of Brandon Zingale sued Kappa Alpha Order in 2017 over the then-MU freshman's alcohol poisoning he suffered after drinking at the fraternity. The Zingales dropped the case a year later.
