Parents Of Student Megan HeLal, Who Died After Binge Drinking Vodka, Sue Fraternity

Parents Sue Fraternity Over Daughter's Binge Drinking Death

A university's fraternity group is being sued for negligence by the parents of a 19-year-old who died after a vodka binge-drinking session.

Megan HeLal died in March 2010, while she was staying at her boyfriend's apartment, who at the time was a student at Baylor University, Texas. The pair attended at party thrown at nearby Mynar's Bar by the Sigma Chi fraternity.

The student then passed out at her boyfriend's apartment after the party and was discovered by him hours later, Fox News reports. According to Baylor University's paper the Lariat, the call to the emergency services was made by her boyfriend.

She later died at a hospital in Waco.

The undergraduate was studying at Navarro College, also in Texas, and was an avid volleyball player, having competed in several Junior Olympic National competitions, as well as belonging to her university's team.

HeLal's parents Donna and Jeff have since filed a lawsuit against the fraternity and the bar, and some sources also claim against the teenager's boyfriend.

The autopsy report stated HeLal died from natural causes but her family are seeking to prove her death was as a result of the high levels of alcohol in her system.

Linda Turley, representing the HeLal family, said: "Clearly the bar didn't monitor what was going on inside. They didn't know who the liquor was being served to. They just kept track of how much they served.

"In addition, they allowed the fraternity to set up bottle service in a little room where the drinking was going on."

The all-male Sigma Chi society claims to be one of North America's largest and oldest fraternities, boasting more than 300,000 members.

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