Personal Injury at Concerts

Patrons injured in an accident during a music concert may have a valid reason to file a claim – but the knowledge of how it differs from other personal injury cases will be essential

What can go wrong at a concert?

Appreciated for their artistic value and unique atmosphere, large music concerts can provide a fair share of excitement and entertainment both for music aficionados as well as for those who look for a fun way to spend leisure time with friends or family. With summer in full swing, music concerts and multi-day festivals are held virtually every weekend in many open-air venues or indoor arenas throughout the U.S. However, as with any kind of public event that draws big crowds, large music concerts present some inherent risk for significant personal injury. Live music can induce strong emotions and the way people act when they are a part of a crowd can easily get out of control, especially if alcohol is allowed at the venue. Thus, even minor security shortcomings or perhaps irresponsible behavior on the part of the artist during the show can result in chaos among the attendees, leading to tragic consequences. A notable example of such tragedies is the 1979 The Who concert, where a crowd rushed the stage causing 11 fatalities and leaving 27 attendees injured, or the incident at the 2001 Pearl Jam concert at the Roskilde Music Festival in Denmark, during which a stage collapsed, resulting in 9 deaths and 26 additional injuries. More recently, 42 concertgoers were injured following a barricade collapse at a Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa show at the BB&T Pavilion in Camden, New Jersey that took place last year. One of the performers, as well as the venue managers, are now facing nearly 20 individual lawsuits in connection with the incident.

A person who has been injured in an accident at a concert or a similar event at an entertainment venue may consider filing a personal injury claim against the organizers of the event or the venue manager. In order for such a claim to be valid and ultimately successful, certain key elements must be met. One of them will be to prove that the accident and injuries arose from negligence on the part of the above-mentioned parties. To do so, the injured party needs to understand the responsibilities concert promoters and venue operators have to ensure public safety during large music concerts or other entertainment events. This article will present information pertaining to that subject as well as examples of situations leading to injuries that may merit a lawsuit.

Types of liability and foreseeability of danger

In connection with accidents that happen at mass events like music festivals or large-venue concerts, two types of liability are usually mentioned – landowner liability and third-party liability. These are not mutually exclusive and may occur at the same time or even be related to one another. In general terms, landowner liability means that the owner of a property, for example, a concert venue, can be held liable for injuries that occur on said property if he or she did not take reasonable care to put into place adequate security measures to prevent harm. Here, however, the issue of foreseeability plays a crucial role. This legal concept states that in order for the landowner to be held liable, the conduct that caused the injuries must be shown to have been a foreseeable danger, or in other words, a danger that could have been reasonably anticipated.

A stampede that occurred at a concert as a result of, say, the absence of appropriate supervision, the number of attendees that exceeded the limit of people that can safely use a given venue or a combination of both, may be a type of a situation that exemplifies the legal concepts mentioned above. In this case, a stampede will likely be judged a foreseeable danger, and if proven that the accident could have been averted or contained by the introduction of adequate measures – for example, a larger number of attendants or security personnel – then the property owner may be found guilty of negligence and liable for injuries that concert-goers sustained as a result of the stampede.

Third-party liability – not always a personal injury case

A concert-goer might also sustain injuries as a result of the deliberate action of another concert-goer. This is where the concept of third-party liability comes into play. An attendee who hits another attendee may be held liable for the resulting injuries; however, rather than a personal injury claim, a criminal charge may be pressed in this case. Criminal charges will not secure financial compensation in the same way a personal injury case would. Nevertheless, a property owner or the concert promoter still may be held liable for the damage arising from the actions of third-parties – in this case, battery – if it is proven that they were negligent in providing security measures that could have prevented the incident. Again, however, in case of a personal injury claim against the concert promoter, securing an outcome favorable to the injured party will depend on the ability to demonstrate that, first, but for the negligence of the promoter, the accident would not have happened and, second, that the incident fits into a definition of a foreseeable danger.

As can be inferred from the examples presented above, a careful analysis of all the circumstances of an accident and all the potentially responsible parties must be made before a personal injury case can be brought and successfully pursued. Also, the plaintiff may expect to have the key elements of his claim challenged – that is, the issue of foreseeability of the risk that engendered harm and whether the security measures provided were inadequate. In some cases, the assistance and opinion of an expert in the field of security will be needed. In addition, a thorough examination of the case may identify multiple parties responsible for the accident, leading to naming multiple defendants in the lawsuit. All the details of a personal injury claim for injuries sustained at a music concert may seem confusing and overwhelming, but with the help of a seasoned personal injury attorney a successful outcome and fair compensation are achievable.

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