Planning to attend a music and arts festival in New York? Beware of potential safety hazards, such as those that sent a 24-year-old woman to a hospital earlier this year. When she went to a music and arts festival in another state, she surely didn’t expect to suffer a fractured skull and traumatic brain injuries before the night was over. Being the plaintiff in a premises liability lawsuit would likely also never had crossed her mind.
Sadly, her fun outing ended with her needing brain surgery, and the psychological trauma was severe enough to cause post-traumatic stress disorder, and make her miss a semester at the law school where she was enrolled. According to court documents related to her claim, the plaintiff was inside the concert tent, which had light fixtures hanging from the roof as part of the decorations. One of these fixtures allegedly became detached, fell and struck the woman and several other guests.
The complaint alleges that treatment for the injured festival-goers was delayed because it was a struggle to locate emergency personnel. The plaintiff was rushed to a hospital, where she underwent surgery and was placed in ICU to be watched for possible seizures. She will have to wait and see whether this incident caused long-term health damage.
Anyone in New York who suffers injuries while attending a music festival or another event might have questions about his or her legal rights and how to go about pursuing recovery of financial and emotional damages. The best person to answer these questions is an experienced premises liability attorney. After assessing the circumstances that caused the injuries, legal counsel can assist with gathering the necessary evidence to support the claims before filing the complaint and litigating the matter in court.