Lawsuit for Wrongful Death of Texas College Freshman Settled for $4.2 Million

A lawsuit brought against three men in the Lambda Phi Epsilon fraternity at the University of Texas for the wrongful death of 18-year old freshman Jack Phoummarath has been settled with the Phoummarath family for a sum of $4.2 million dollars. Phoummarath died in the fall of 2005 from acute alcohol poisoning after a binge drinking hazing while pledging with the fraternity. He had a blood alcohol content level of .50 at the time of death.

As part of the plea deal with the defendants, who were indicted for hazing, they took part in an educational video that warns of the dangers that come with fraternity and sorority hazing. Phoummarath’s family is also working with the University of Texas to set up an annual $8,000 - $10,000 scholarship in Jack’s name that will be granted to a student in exchange for promoting an educational program warning against hazing and binge drinking. The Phoummarath family have emphasized that these programs are not anti-Greek, but merely tools to educate students.