According to TMZ.com, a LAMB OF GOD fan has filed a lawsuit against Live Nation, the world’s largest concert promoter, after sustaining an injury during the band’s November 23, 2012 show at the Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, Connecticut.
The fan claims he was trampled by the crowd in the standing-room section of the venue, causing fractures to the spine which required surgery. He is seeking more than $75,000.
According to the complaint, the fan “was standing in his aforementioned designated area [when] he was violently knocked to the ground and trampled, sustaining… severe [and] painful injuries… some of which are permanent.”
The fan accuses Live Nation of “[failing] to provide adequate security for its event patrons and/or business invites; despite the fact that [Live Nation] knew or should have known that the patrons attending the LAMB OF GOD concert event were prone to altercations and/or creating conditions that posed a danger to the safely of other patrons; [and] despite the fact that prior violent and/ar injurious incidents had occurred at similar concerts and/or under similar circumstances.”
The fan claims that Live Nation‘s “negligence and carelessness” resulted in the fan sustaining “multiple traumatic fractures of the cervical spine requiring surgical fusion; bruises and contusions about the head, neck, body and limbs; permanent impairment of the cervical spine; permanent disfiguring scarring of the neck; bi-lateral shoulder pain; upper back pain; and a severe shock to his nervous system, including a temporary inability to stand or walk after the event.”
According to the complaint, “as a further direct and proximate result of [Live Nation‘s] negligence and said injuries, [the fan] has sustained a loss of the enjoyment of life’s activities, and in all probability, he will sustain such loss of enjoyment in the future… [The fan] has sustained a loss of earnings and an impairment of his earning capacity, and in all probability he will sustain such losses and impairment in the future.”
The members of LAMB OF GOD are not party to the lawsuit.
During a May 2010 LAMB OF GOD show in the Czech Republic, 19-year-old concertgoer Daniel Nosek sustained a head injury that allegedly led to the fan’s death. LAMB OF GOD singer Randy Blythe was charged with manslaughter in the case, but was eventually acquitted.
Regarding the practice of stage diving, the presiding judge in the Blythe case stated “ninety percent of the audience” must have known that jumping off the stage was prohibited at the venue, as a barrier was in place and concert security had successfully prevented fans from hopping the barricade during the show. The judge also noted that Blythe‘s hand gestures calling for a round of applause could have been misunderstood as an invitation for fans to come up onto the stage.
A number of rockers came to Randy‘s defense, with many of them citing the 2004 shooting death onstage of PANTERA guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott as the reason why musicians are so defensive nowadays about fans invading the stage.
Source: Blabbermouth
