Indiana Injury Lawyer Blog

Attorneys representing victims of the Indiana State Fair Sugarland stage collapse are closely reviewing the recently released results from the Indiana Department of Labor’s IOSHA investigation. The investigation resulted in fines and Safety Orders being assessed against the Indiana State Fair Commission, Local 30 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Mid-America Sound Corporation, for their safety failures in connection with the stage collapse.

Attorney Tony Patterson (Parr Richey Obremskey Frandsen & Patterson LLP), is representing several injury victims including the Polet family, who previously filed a lawsuit in Marion County captioned Polet, et. al. v. Live Nation et. al. That lawsuit was brought by more than fifteen law firms on behalf of approximately 40 injury victims and the families of four persons killed in the stage collapse.

“On behalf of the victims of the tragedy, our hope is that this investigation and the fines that were assessed will improve safety so that others in the future won’t have to go through what these people and their families have had to endure,” said Patterson. “We know that this report is just the beginning and we look forward to receiving the reports and investigation results from Thorton Tomasetti and Witt Associates, which will hopefully continue to give us, and the public, a better understanding as to the events that evening.”

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller announced that the State of Indiana would begin distributing its settlement money to victims and family members of victims from the stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair. It was announced on Tuesday, December 6, 2011, how the money would be distributed.

The fund for the occurrence is capped at $5 million under Indiana law. Payouts to victims range from $109 to $503,042. In order to decide how much each victim is to be paid, lawyers and other experts met in order to develop a plan to classify each injured person based on the injuries they sustained. Families of victims that were killed will receive $300,000 and surviving victims with physical injuries will get compensation for 65 percent of their medical bills that have been incurred through November 15.

Future medical expenses and psychological injuries are not covered by the settlement plan. For this and other reasons Tony Patterson and Paul Kruse - attorneys for several of the victims - are writing letters to Indiana legislators requesting that they pass legislation to increase the payout to the stage collapse victims.