Sugarland blames fans for state fair injuries
By CARRIE SCHEDLER | Associated Press - 22 hrs agoRelated Content
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FILE - In this Oct. 28, 2011, file photo the American country music duo Sugarland, ...
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FILE - In this Aug. 13, 2011 file frame grab from video provided by Jessica Silas, ...
The statement, part of a Feb. 16 response to a civil suit filed by survivors and families of some of those killed, comes in sharp contrast to earlier statements by lead singer Jennifer Nettles and appears to be an attempt to cast blame elsewhere.
Calling the powerful winds that toppled the stage on Aug. 13 an "act of God," Sugarland's attorneys said fair officials and Mid-America Sound Corp. were responsible for the stage setup, and that the fans voluntarily assumed risk by attending the show.
"Some or all of the plaintiffs' claimed injuries resulted from their own fault," according to the band's response. Sugarland attorney James H. Milstone did not immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment Tuesday.
Seven people died and 58 were injured in the crush beneath the metal rigging and concert sound equipment.
Nettles told The Associated Press in a statement issued through her manager two days after the collapse that she was "moved by the grief of those families who lost loved ones. Moved by the pain of those who were injured and the fear of their families. Moved by the great heroism as I watched so many brave Indianapolis fans actually run toward the stage to try and help lift and rescue those injured. Moved by the quickness and organization of the emergency workers who set up the triage and tended to the injured."
Attorneys representing at least 20 law firms across Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky filed the complaint Nov. 22 in Marion Superior Court in Indianapolis alleging breach of reasonable care to the victims. The suit names as plaintiffs dozens of people injured and the families of some of those killed, and it seeks unspecified damages from Sugarland, producers, stage riggers and others associated with the show.
Jeff Stesiak, a South Bend attorney involved in the suit, said the band's response was strange given the circumstances of the fans' injuries.
"It's unusual to put the blame on victims. The concert wasn't canceled and they weren't told to leave. I can't imagine what the victims did to be at fault," Stesiak said Tuesday. "They had a duty to warn fans. An open and obvious danger is more like walking along a road and seeing a downed power line and walking over it anyway. The storm wasn't like that."
Lawyers for the band are seeking a jury trial.
In a Jan. 16 deposition on a lawsuit against the company that built the stage rigging, Indiana State Fair Commission Executive Director Cindy Hoye testified that Sugarland resisted delaying the start of the concert despite threatening weather.
Hoye said a representative for a concert promotion company working with the fair twice approached Sugarland about the fair's desire to delay the show. But Hoye said the band expressed concerns about how a delay would affect the time Nettles needed to warm up and complicate the band's travel to its next show.
Sugarland tour manager Hellen Rollens told investigators with the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration that there was no discussion of delaying the show.
Earlier this month, Indiana regulators released a report saying Hoye and other fair officials were too slow to order an evacuation.
IOSHA fined the State Fair Commission $6,300 for failing to conduct proper safety evaluations of its concert venues. It also called the commission's emergency plan inadequate.
The agency also cited Mid-America, the company that erected the stage rigging, and the union whose members worked on the structure for various workplace violations
So should they be responsible?
If there are dark clouds, lightening, and the threat of severe weather, why would you stay?
I don't think it's actually Sugarland blaming the "victims" but Sugarland's lawyers fighting a huge claim. And yes, I think that a portion of the blame goes to the victims, because they made the choice to stay when the weather deteriorated. There will not be any winners in this case.
Personally, I am not a fan of Sugarland...they are just not a band that I personally listen to. I don't think Sugarland nor the victims are responsible. The band chose to perform rather than cancelling and possibly not being able to reschedule. They did what they thought was right. I think the people who put the stage together should have know what it could and could not withstand. IMO it was a bad decision to keep the show going all around. They should have cancelled the whole State Fair, but because it would generate money with a band like Sugarland, they kept it going as scheduled. There's too many what ifs to say with a definite 'You are at fault'.
But in nasty weather no reasonable person expects that the stage could potentially collapse. Getting drenched? Sure. Possibly struck by lightening if it there is a lightening storm? Okay. But nobody expects the stage to collapse. So, to say that they were knowingly assuming *that* risk is silly.
I am stuck on this. It seemed obvious that a storm was brewing and well, common sense would dictate that the show be delayed or canceled. Just as those in the crowd, they made their own choice to stay or to leave.
I'm not too thrilled with some of the 'statements' I read above but I do think that the attorneys for the band are fighting against a huge suit and well, they are going to do what they feel they have to in order to win.
We all have personal responsibility for things we choose to do. This goes for those in the crowd and those putting on the show, from the band to the state producers, to the fair......every one has some responsibility in this.
I think the fans should take accountability for their own safety. If it's storming, probably not a good idea to be outside. The fair and the stage company do have some responibility too. Regardless of what Sugarland wanted, the fair should have thought of it's patrons and cleared it out if there was ANY doubt that the stage could collapse.
I heard this on the radio this morning adn Sugarland didn't blame them, basically stated that they went at their own risk, they knew the wether conditions and still attended.
Leave it to the media to twist this shit around. This would of been considered an act of god becasue of the high winds.
Really? Let's blame Sugarland? WTF?
Quoting urbr0wneyedg1rl:I heard this on the radio this morning adn Sugarland didn't blame them, basically stated that they went at their own risk, they knew the wether conditions and still attended.
Leave it to the media to twist this shit around. This would of been considered an act of god becasue of the high winds.
Really? Let's blame Sugarland? WTF?
If the band was aware of the potential for the high winds, did they not have a responsibility to determine if they felt it was safe to go on? I think they did and I think they made a decision to go forward with the thought that something so awful would not happen. I can't say I blame them. I don't know that I would have stayed under the weather conditions but I wasn't there.
Responsibility lies on all fronts on this one, in my opinion. Every one made decisions and choices and to sit there and point fingers at each other is not going to change what happened.
If any thing.........the structure collapsing, the company responsible for the structure, should be looked at more closely.
Such a sad mess.
"A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song." ~ Maya Angelou
Quoting JakeandEmmasMom:But in nasty weather no reasonable person expects that the stage could potentially collapse. Getting drenched? Sure. Possibly struck by lightening if it there is a lightening storm? Okay. But nobody expects the stage to collapse. So, to say that they were knowingly assuming *that* risk is silly.
If it was installed correctly, and the wind caused the collapse, how is anyone else to blame?
I just don't understand this endless demand for someone to blame. Sometimes, genuinely, 'things happen.'
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on Feb. 22, 2012 at 12:01 PM