Personal Injury Attorney Case – Rock Concert

Rock Concert – Patron Trampled – Negligent Security – $170,000.00

Reported in the Lawyers Weekly

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly
While at the defendant’s entertainment establishment, the plaintiff left her assigned ticketed seat in order to obtain refreshments. When she returned with her refreshments, she noticed that other people had moved in and took her seat. She then got the help of a security guard who was employed by the second defendant in this case. But instead of the security guard moving the patrons who were in the wrong seats, the guard led her to another area where she could stand to watch the remainder of the concert.

As the concert progressed, the crowd became unruly, and at one point the lead vocalist for the band invited some friends onto the stage. At this time the plaintiff claimed that she was trampled by the crowd as they rushed the stage. This resulted in personal injuries.

Approximately one year before this incident the plaintiff had a posterior laminectomy. And even with this treatment she was still suffering discomfort, and had expressed this within a few weeks of the concert. After being injured at the concert, the plaintiff had to undergo a total laminectomy, as well as infusion accompanied by a bone graph donation.

Every defendant contested that the plaintiff had no rights to the claim. It was revealed that the plaintiff had attended several concerts by the same artist, and that she should have known what to expect. The defendants also argued that the plaintiff did not do herself any favors by placing herself in a raucous situation.

The pre-incident records showed that the plaintiff had been suffering from low back pain due to previous problems. At the very most, the defendants claimed that the incident at the concert was an exacerbation of past medical injuries.

What Makes a Personal Injury Case?

Personal injury cases in Massachusetts must prove four things, that the responsible party should have taken care to protect the plaintiff, that the responsible party failed to do so, that this was the cause of the injury, and that there are actual costs that could be repaid through a personal injury lawsuit.

In this case, you could argue that the entertainment establishment had a duty to keep the plaintiff protected from injury. You might even be able to argue that by moving her and failing to take control of the crowd, they put her in the way of harm. We know that the plaintiff demonstrated injuries, but we would need to demonstrate the unruly crowd was the cause of them. Working with a lawyer following such a unique injury is important to demonstrate each of these elements.