Fraternity Sued Over Hazing Death

A fraternity is being sued by the parents of a Northern Illinois University student who died of alcohol poisoning after an initiation party.

The parents of 19-year-old David Bogenberger filed the lawsuit this week against the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, alleging that chapter leaders forced new members to consume dangerous amounts of alcohol at an initiation party as a condition of membership.

David’s body was discovered at NIU’s Pi Kappa Alpha house on November 2 – the day after the party.

According to court documents, the suit claims that the fraternity’s national organization acted negligently in failing to ensure that its chapter leaders received warnings about the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption and in failing to ensure the NIU chapter complied with the fraternity’s hazing policies.

The lawsuit also names 22 student members of the fraternity as defendants, all of whom were also charged with felony hazing.