The family of a Stanford University student who died in his fraternity house two years ago is suing the school, the fraternity and his roommates, court filings show.
Eitan Michael Weiner, a 19-year-old sophomore, was found dead of a drug overdose at the Theta Delta Chi house on the Stanford campus on Jan. 17, 2020. The suit was filed by his father Amir Weiner, a Stanford associate professor of history; his mother Julia Erwin-Weiner, an associate vice president at the Stanford Medical Center; and his sister Ya’el Weiner, who graduated from Stanford in 2019.
The Weiners are seeking damages from the university, the man who allegedly sold Eitan counterfeit Percocet laced with fentanyl, the Theta Delta Chi Founders’ Corporation and three of Eitan’s former roommates at TDX — all current undergrad students at Stanford.
“Sadly, this tragedy — which was years in the making — could have easily been prevented,” the suit reads.
According to Weiner’s family, the sophomore overdosed two days before his death. Paramedics were called to the frat house, but Weiner declined medical attention. Two days later, he was found unresponsive in a bathroom by a janitor. He was pronounced dead by first responders at the scene. The coroner’s office named the cause of death as fentanyl toxicity.
Shortly afterward, Stanford Vice Provost for Student Affairs Susie Brubaker-Cole issued a campus-wide fentanyl warning. “We are concerned in particular about counterfeit prescription painkillers that look like Percocet and OxyContin, but contain fentanyl,” it read.
Weiner’s family says this was too little, too late. The lawsuit alleges that the fraternity and Stanford failed to follow proper protocols when Weiner overdosed the first time, and claims his roommates did nothing to assist him on the day he died. It also claims Stanford knew there was a pervasive drug problem at TDX and failed to intervene. Over a year after Weiner’s death, Stanford announced Theta Delta Chi had lost its university recognition, citing three “violations of university policy” all related to drug use.
“It took the death of Eitan Weiner for Stanford University to finally enforce its own policies and procedures against TDX,” the lawsuit says.
The Weiners are seeking a jury trial in the Santa Clara County Superior Court.
“We were saddened to receive news of this lawsuit as our community continues to mourn Eitan’s tragic death, and we have great sympathy for his family and those affected by it,” Stanford University wrote in a statement to SFGATE. “We do not agree with many of the allegations in the complaint and we will defend the university against this lawsuit.”
The next hearing in the case is set for March 8.