Brooklyn College Hazing Lawyer

A hazing injury on a Brooklyn campus can follow very different legal paths depending on the school. Brooklyn is home to both City University of New York campuses and private colleges, and whether the school is public or private affects who can be sued, where the case is filed, and how quickly the first paperwork has to be served. Mark David Shirian P.C. handles personal injury and civil litigation across New York City and the surrounding region, and as a Brooklyn college hazing lawyer the firm represents students and families who were hurt in the name of initiation, membership, or team and club tradition.

Hazing rarely looks like what people picture. It can be forced drinking, sleep deprivation, physical beatings, humiliating tasks, exhaustion drills, or pressure to endure injury without seeking care. New York law treats hazing as a crime in its own right, and the civil side of a case looks at the students who did it, the organization, and sometimes the institution that knew or should have known what was going on.

Students often hesitate because they were told the activity was voluntary. In New York that is a weak defense. Consent to take part does not erase an injury caused by reckless conduct, and it does not wipe out a civil claim.

Colleges and Universities in Brooklyn

Brooklyn’s public campuses are part of CUNY: Brooklyn College in Midwood, Medgar Evers College in Crown Heights, New York City College of Technology in Downtown Brooklyn, and Kingsborough Community College in Manhattan Beach. SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in East Flatbush is a State University of New York campus. Claims against these public institutions belong in the Court of Claims and require a notice of claim on a short deadline, so a hazing injury at a public campus needs attention right away.

Brooklyn’s private schools include Pratt Institute in Clinton Hill, Long Island University’s Brooklyn campus, NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering, and St. Joseph’s University in Downtown Brooklyn and Clinton Hill. Claims involving a private college, along with claims against individual students, fraternities, clubs, and property owners, are generally brought in the Supreme Court, Kings County. Whatever the school, Brooklyn students often live in off-campus apartments and gather at rented spaces across the borough, and many hazing events happen there, outside any campus oversight.

How New York Law Treats Hazing in Criminal and Civil Terms

New York defines hazing in Article 120 of the Penal Law, alongside assault offenses. Hazing in the first degree applies when someone, during another person’s initiation into or affiliation with an organization, intentionally or recklessly engages in conduct that creates a substantial risk of physical injury and the person is actually injured. That offense is a class A misdemeanor. Hazing in the second degree covers the same risky conduct when no injury results, and it is classified as a violation.

The definition was widened in 2018 to expressly include making physical contact with a person or requiring physical activity of them. That language matters in cases involving forced workouts, “pledge” endurance tasks, and similar demands that do not look like a traditional beating.

A criminal charge is not required for a civil claim. The civil case is a separate action for money damages, and it is decided on a different standard. Police reports and campus findings can help, but a claim does not depend on a prosecutor acting.

Federal law adds another layer. The Stop Campus Hazing Act defines hazing broadly, covering acts connected to initiation, affiliation, or maintaining membership in a student organization, regardless of whether the student was willing. It also requires colleges to publish a transparency report listing organizations found responsible, along with violations, sanctions, and investigation dates. Those reports can be a useful starting point when we look at whether an organization had a history.

Why Choose Mark David Shirian P.C. for a Brooklyn Hazing Case

Mark David Shirian P.C. is a litigation firm that serves Kings County and the rest of New York City, Long Island, Westchester, and the greater region, representing injured people in personal injury, wrongful death, catastrophic injury, and institutional abuse matters. Personal injury cases are handled on a contingency fee basis, so there is no fee unless there is a recovery, and case evaluations are free and confidential. Every case is handled by one of the firm’s attorneys rather than a case manager, which matters when a student or parent needs straight answers about a campus that may be reluctant to give them.

Mark D. Shirian, Founding Member, leads the firm’s litigation practice. He has obtained multiple seven-figure settlements and has taken on Fortune 500 companies, school systems, and government entities, which is the kind of opposition a hazing case against a college and a national organization can involve. He was named one of The National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40, displays the NAOPIA Top 10 Attorney Award, and belongs to the American Association for Justice, the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, and the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers. He is admitted in New York and in the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. Shawn D. Shirian, Senior Associate, brings more than seven years of litigation experience, including jury trials, dispositive motions, and general liability work.

The firm’s results include a $1,500,000 Child Victims Act settlement, a $1,500,000 Transit Authority bus accident settlement, a $1,000,000 wrongful death settlement, and a $500,000 settlement for a minor injured at a daycare. Cases against public and institutional defendants, and cases involving young people harmed in supervised settings, are familiar ground. Clients describe the firm’s honest, direct communication, responsiveness, patient answers, and the sense of being treated like family, and the firm holds an Excellent Google rating based on 96 reviews.

Situations That Lead to Brooklyn Hazing Claims

• Fraternity and Sorority Pledging: Forced alcohol consumption, late-night errands, and physical punishment during “intake” can cause alcohol poisoning, head injuries, and falls. Both the individual members and the chapter or national organization may be responsible.
• Athletic Team Initiations: Rookie rituals, forced drinking, and punishing conditioning requirements can injure students who feel they cannot refuse without losing their place on the roster.
• Club and Student Organization Rites: Cultural, academic, and social clubs have been known to demand humiliating or physically risky tasks as a condition of acceptance, even where no one calls it hazing.
• Forced Exercise and Sleep Deprivation: Extreme physical activity can cause rhabdomyolysis and cardiac events, and the 2018 amendment reaches conduct that requires physical activity of the victim.
• Off-Campus Gatherings: Many incidents happen at apartments or rented venues in Brooklyn and nearby areas. Premises owners and hosts can carry their own liability in addition to the organization.
• Delayed Medical Care: Participants are often discouraged from calling 911 or going to the hospital. A failure to get help for an injured pledge can be its own source of harm and its own basis for liability.
• Wrongful Death: When a hazing event is fatal, the claim belongs to the estate through a court-appointed representative, and the timing rules for public defendants run from that appointment.
• Psychological and Sexual Abuse: Humiliation, coercion, and sexualized rituals can cause lasting emotional injury and may support claims beyond ordinary negligence.

What to Do After a Hazing Injury in Brooklyn

Get medical care first, and make sure the records describe what actually happened. Tell the treating provider the injury came from an organization event. Emergency room notes written in the first hours are often the most credible record of the injury and its cause.

Then preserve everything. Save group chats, social media posts, photographs, pledge schedules, text messages from officers, and any message that ordered or encouraged the activity. Do not delete anything, even if it looks embarrassing. Write down names of participants and witnesses while memory is fresh.

If the school is a public institution, such as a CUNY campus, timing is the first hard issue. Claims against a public entity generally require a written notice of claim, sworn, served within ninety days after the claim arises. It must state the claimant’s name and address, the nature of the claim, the time, place, and manner in which it arose, and the items of damage. In a wrongful death case, the ninety days run from the appointment of a representative of the estate. A court can sometimes allow late service, but never beyond the limitations period for the underlying action, which for most municipal tort claims is one year and ninety days. These deadlines run separately from the ordinary three-year negligence period, and infancy tolling does not always extend them.

Claims against the State of New York and certain State-related entities, including CUNY, are heard in the Court of Claims, which has no authority over individual defendants. Claims against private colleges, individual students, the fraternity or club, and private property owners are brought in the Supreme Court, Kings County, or another county with a proper connection to the case. Federal claims arising in Brooklyn are heard in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and appeals from Kings County go to the Appellate Division, Second Department. Because claims can be split between forums, they often have to be organized carefully from the start.

Be careful with campus disciplinary processes. A student may be asked to give a statement to a campus investigator or to sign something. Those statements can be used later. Speak with an attorney before giving a recorded or written account to anyone connected with the school or the organization, and do not accept a quick offer from an insurer.

Who Can Be Held Responsible, and How Fault Is Divided

The people who carried out the hazing are the obvious defendants, but they are rarely the only ones. A national fraternity or sorority may have been warned by earlier incidents. A property owner may have allowed an event on its premises. A team’s coaches or advisers may have known and looked away. The college itself can face a claim where it had notice of the conduct and failed to act, which is why the public records and transparency reports described above are worth reviewing early.

New York uses pure comparative fault for non-vehicle injury claims such as hazing. Under that rule, a claimant’s own conduct does not bar recovery; it only reduces damages in proportion to the share of fault assigned. A student who drank, or who stayed in the activity, is not shut out. Defendants will argue consent and assumption of risk, but those arguments reduce damages at most. They do not erase the claim, and they carry little weight when the conduct was coercive and the pressure to participate was real.

Damages can include medical expenses, future care, lost earnings, pain and suffering, and, in fatal cases, the losses recoverable by the estate and family. Catastrophic injuries, such as brain injury from a fall or organ damage from alcohol poisoning, call for careful medical and economic proof, since the cost of care can extend for decades.

How These Cases Usually Unfold

The first stage is investigation. We gather medical records, communications, and organizational documents, and we identify every party who may owe a duty. Notice of claim paperwork goes out early where a public entity is involved.

Next comes filing. A case begins only when a summons and complaint are filed with the court clerk; a demand letter does not stop the clock. Defendants usually respond with denials and with arguments that the student agreed to take part.

Discovery follows, with document demands, depositions of members and officers, and requests for the organization’s insurance. Hazing cases often turn on what the group’s leaders and national office knew. Many resolve through settlement after discovery clarifies the evidence, though the firm prepares each case as if it will be tried.

Questions About Brooklyn Hazing Claims

Is hazing a crime in New York?

Yes. Hazing in the first degree, where conduct creates a substantial risk of injury and an injury results, is a class A misdemeanor. Hazing in the second degree, where the risk exists but no injury occurs, is a violation. A civil claim for damages does not depend on a criminal charge.

Does it matter that I agreed to take part?

Much less than defendants hope. The federal definition of hazing applies regardless of whether the person was willing, and under New York’s comparative fault rule your own conduct reduces damages rather than barring the claim.

How long do I have to sue?

Negligence claims generally carry a three-year period, while intentional torts such as assault carry one year. Claims against a public entity also require a notice of claim within ninety days. These deadlines run on separate tracks, so the shortest one controls how fast you need to act.

Can I sue the college itself?

Possibly, if the school knew or should have known about the conduct and did not respond. A claim against a private college is brought in the Supreme Court like other injury cases. A claim against a CUNY or SUNY campus goes through the Court of Claims and carries the notice requirements described above, so the details of what the school knew and when are important.

What if I was a minor when I was hurt?

A person under eighteen when injured generally has three years from turning eighteen to sue, which makes the effective deadline age twenty-one, subject to a ten-year cap for most claims. That extension does not always apply to the notice of claim deadline for public entities.

Will the fraternity or club’s insurance pay?

Sometimes, but many policies exclude hazing or intentional conduct, and national organizations may dispute coverage. Identifying all available policies, including those of property owners and individual members, is part of early discovery.

What if my child died after a hazing event?

A wrongful death claim is brought by the personal representative of the estate. For a public defendant, the ninety-day notice period runs from that representative’s appointment, so opening the estate promptly matters.

Should I report the incident to the school before talking to a lawyer?

You may report an injury and seek help, but be cautious about detailed statements or signing documents. Statements to investigators can be used against you later, so it is wise to speak with an attorney first.

Can a hazing claim be filed if the injuries are mostly emotional?

Yes, in appropriate cases. Psychological harm from coercion, humiliation, or sexual abuse can support damages, particularly when it is documented by treating mental health providers.

How much does it cost to hire the firm?

Personal injury matters are handled on a contingency fee basis, meaning no fee unless there is a recovery, and the initial evaluation is free and confidential.

Which court would hear my case?

Claims against private colleges, individuals, organizations, and property owners are generally heard in the Supreme Court, Kings County, while claims against CUNY or SUNY campuses are heard in the Court of Claims. Federal claims arising in Brooklyn go to the Eastern District of New York.

Serving Hazing Victims Across Brooklyn and the Region

The firm represents students and families throughout Brooklyn, including Downtown Brooklyn, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Midwood, Flatbush, East Flatbush, Park Slope, Bay Ridge, Sunset Park, Bensonhurst, Williamsburg, Bushwick, Crown Heights, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville, Canarsie, Sheepshead Bay, Manhattan Beach, Coney Island, and Greenpoint. We also serve families in Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx, and across Long Island, including Nassau County communities such as Hempstead, Garden City, Mineola, and Great Neck. In Westchester County, we represent clients in Yonkers, White Plains, Mount Vernon, and New Rochelle, and we accept matters from Suffolk County, Rockland County, and other parts of the greater New York region.

Speak With a Brooklyn College Hazing Attorney

If you or your child was hurt in an initiation, a team ritual, or a club tradition, the sooner you speak with a Brooklyn college hazing attorney, the better your chances of preserving evidence and meeting every deadline, including the short notice deadlines that apply when a public college is involved. Call Mark David Shirian P.C. to schedule a free, confidential evaluation. You will talk with an attorney who can explain the options, the timelines, and what a claim could realistically involve.