A former fraternity pledge claims that he was so severely beaten during Omega Psi Phi’s ‘Hell Night’ that he had to relearn how to walk.

Rafeal Joseph is now suing the fraternity, the University of Southern Mississippi, multiple other people and organizations.

According to the federal lawsuit, Joseph and other pledges were struck repeatedly with a wooden paddle made from a two-by-four plank during the hazing event on April 16, 2023.

Afterward, he had emergency surgery and a blood transfusion, the lawsuit said. He was treated for bruised ribs, a hematoma, posterior compartment syndrome and rhabdomyolysis, a severe muscle injury.

The lawsuit alleges that Joseph suffered severe emotional distress and could not walk for months.

He ultimately dropped out of the university.

The fraternity declined to comment on the lawsuit, while the university was not immediately available for comment.

“We see violent incidents like these time and again across the nation but, instead of taking action, fraternity leaders and university officials alike sweep it under the rug and write it off as ‘boys will be boys,’” Civil Rights Attorney Bakari Sellers, who is representing Joseph, said in a press release.

“It’s criminal violence and abuse and it needs to end.”

The lawsuit alleges fraternity members began hazing Joseph in December 2022 by stealing his food and money, preventing him from sleeping and threatening him.

It also lays out a second case of alleged abuse, claiming Nu Eta hazing left another student with a torn ACL in the fall of 2022.

According to the lawsuit, the university did not investigate the incident or take action against the fraternity.

In March, authorities announced a possible act of fraternity hazing was being investigated following the death of a 20-year-old Southern University student.

Caleb Wilson, who died on February 27, was a mechanical engineering junior at Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

A university spokesperson confirmed that an alleged fraternity ritual, involving Omega Psi Phi, was being investigated.