A university student is left fighting for his life in a coma after drinking a bottle of vodka during a hazing incident.
Daniel Santulli had gone into cardiac arrest when he was found inside a car by University Hospital in Columbia, Missouri, after taking part in an initiation ceremony.
His blood alcohol content was at 0.486 percent, over six times the legal driving limit.
The 19-year-old was forced into the dangerous act as a pledge at Phi Gamma Delta house of the University of Missouri on October 20 last year, according to a lawsuit filed by his family, the Columbia Missourian reported.
Daniel, of Eden Prairie, Minneapolis, was resuscitated and put on a ventilator but has allegedly suffered significant brain damage.
The legal papers, submitted to Boone County Circuit Court, said he is still "unresponsive, unaware of his surroundings, unable to communicate and [with] a significant injury to his brain".
The family's lawyer David Bianchi said it was the "worst" injury caused by a fraternity pledge he'd ever seen in his 30 years in the profession, reports the news outlet.
The suit names the national Phi Gamma Delta organisation, as well as individual members at the university's chapter.
The chapter has since been suspended.
Ron Caudill, the fraternity’s national executive director, said in a statement: "Our thoughts and prayers are with Danny and the Santulli family during this difficult time.
“We have received the civil complaint and are reviewing it...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."
"These are part of a pattern of unsafe and dangerous behaviour that represents the traditions of the fraternity," he added.
