People attend music festivals to not only enjoy the music, but to enjoy the socializing and atmosphere, as well. Unfortunately, some attendees behavior can get out of hand and cause harm to themselves and others. This was the case at the “All Good Music Festival” in West Virginia this year.
Daniel Weaver of Hudson, New York, is suing organizers of an event and a security company for injuries received during last summer's “All Good Music Festival” in Clarksburg, West Virginia.
Weaver, 27, paralyzed from the waist down, is suing Marvin's Mountaintop LLC, Event Staffing Inc. of Norfolk, Virginia, and Maryland-based Walther Productions and All Good Presents in the U.S. District Court in Clarksburg this week. Weaver says that employees of these companies contributed to his injuries that resulted in his paralysis.
The complaint states that Weaver ran naked through the festival grounds near Masontown, and staff chased him through the woods. Weaver then jumped into a swampy area, where employees found him lying down. According to Weaver, Event Staffing employees forced him to his feet, carried him by his arms and legs, and deliberately dropped him on the ground.
In his lawsuit, Weaver claims those employees should have determined whether he was injured before moving him. He also states that the employees moved him improperly.
Weaver stated that he told the employees that he was experiencing severe pain and discomfort. Later, when examined by a doctor, it was discovered that Weaver had a fracture in his spinal column that left him a quadriplegic.
Weaver's lawsuit says Event Staffing failed to provide “a competent security service” and failed to ensure its employees were properly trained. It also contends those employees are guilty of “overreacting and needlessly giving chase to the plaintiff, who was running in a wooded area, but constituting no threat to any attendees.”
This turned out to be the final year of the Preston County festival in West Virginia, as next year it will be held in Thornville, Ohio.
The father of a South Carolina woman sued over the death of his daughter, who was killed the same weekend as Weaver was injured. Kim Miller's daughter, Nicole, and two girlfriends from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, were sleeping in a tent, when a truck slid down a grassy slope and crashed into their tent. Nicole Miller was killed in the incident. Kim Miller's lawsuit and those filed by survivors Rosie Doran and Yen Ton are to be tried together in Clarksburg in federal court in August. Mediation in June could resolve these cases sooner.
Those lawsuits target about a dozen parties, including Clay Lewin, the driver of the truck, and promoters and several parking and security companies. Lewis acknowledges that he lost control of his pickup, but blames the parking and security agents who told him to park on a steep, grassy slope near the tents and other vehicles. The agents were there when he arrived, but not present to guide him out when he tried to leave.
All defendants in these lawsuits have denied culpability and are filing cross-claims against each other. These defendants include: Event Staffing; Walther Productions president Tim Walther; Marvin's Mountaintop owner Marvin Huggins; promoter Junipa Contento; M&M Parking Inc. of Pennsylvania; and three security providers, National Event Services Inc. of New Hampshire, and Axis Security Inc. of Tennessee.
When injured in an accident, seek medical care immediately. It is beneficial to receive counsel from a competent personal injury attorney who has the experience to pursue the best possible resolution available in your unique situation.