The family of a Lyon College freshman who died in January 2021 after what was believed to be a hazing incident involving large consumption of alcohol filed a negligence and wrongful death suit in court Thursday.
According to the documents, James Gilfedder III was 19 years old when he was invited to a party off-campus on Jan. 29, 2021, at a home in Batesville that was being rented by another baseball player.
The home is believed to have been partially owned by Lyon College's baseball coach Jacob Huffman, documents state.
At the party, various underage baseball and softball players were present and drinking alcohol, and Gilfedder was supplied with alcohol and quickly became visibly intoxicated, which the coach witnessed, the filing alleges.
The documents allege the college and the coach were aware of the hazing of new teammates, including Gilfedder. According to the documents, the hazing included, but was not limited to, causing the student to drink “massive amounts of alcohol in a short period of time.” The documents do not specify a quantity or a time frame of the incident in question.
The person Gilfedder went to the party with said he fell asleep in the car on the way home from the party, court documents state. Students claim they left Gilfedder passed out on the floor of his Lyon College dorm room around 2 a.m. Jan. 30, 2021.
Students reportedly checked on him twice the next morning, at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., saying they observed him on the floor and believed he was asleep.
An hour and a half later, it was determined that Gilfedder was unresponsive and he was blue and purple in color, so students notified the resident assistant, the documents state.
The resident assistant claimed they found him “very intoxicated” and wandering the campus, so they brought him back to his room, the document states. The resident assistant did not check on him again that night and found him dead the next day, according to the document.
An autopsy showed that Gilfedder’s blood alcohol content was .357% and that the cause of his death was acute alcohol intoxication.
At the time of Gilfedder’s death, the president of the college shared a news release confirming the death, and confirmed the college was cooperating with the police department.
The college reminded students about the college’s counseling center and chaplain’s office offering support following his death.
The filing requests compensation for the loss of life, conscious pain and suffering of the deceased prior to death, funeral expenses, and the mental anguish and pecuniary damage of the surviving estate and to recover damages and judgment against the defendants. The suit does not cite a specific monetary figure.
Lyon College said Friday that the institution cannot comment on pending litigation.