Snoop Dogg And Wiz Khalifa Sued: Fractured Spine Injury Listed By Railing Collapse Lawsuit Victim
Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa are being sued by “High Road Tour” attendees who suffered major injuries at the hip hop duo’s New Jersey concert, according to TMZ. The crowd barrier at BB&T Pavilion completely gave out without warning. The collapsed railing made concertgoers fall 10 feet below onto concrete. The collapse occurred due to an enormous amount of pressure from fans surging forward to see Snoop and Wiz on a secondary stage. Lawyers claimed their clients suffer from a number of injuries after being trampled and pinned to the ground. Snoop and Khalifa’s show ended abruptly.
This Twitter user captured the collapse as it happened.
Many injured after barrier/railing collapses during Snoop Dogg’s and Wiz Khalifa’s show in Camden, New Jersey. pic.twitter.com/aTlUDd3ztn
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) August 6, 2016
The lawsuit was filed in Philadelphia and lists 17 people. Three of which are workers, the other 14 are concertgoers. The fans turned plaintiffs are taking Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa, Live Nation and the venue operator to court.
The lawsuit states, Snoop and Wiz Khalifa caused a stampede which ultimately lead to the collapse, according to TMZ. Associated Press reports the collapse occurred due to the rappers gesturing fans to move toward the small stage—all agreeing with a statement Robert J. Mongeluzzi, the lawyer representing those injured, said to Rolling Stone.
“The safety of patrons at concerts must always be paramount… The failure of this railing at the concert venue was caused by a failure in planning and execution. A second stage was located beneath a lawn area with no seat or aisles, leading to crowd surge when Snoop Dogg screamed, ‘Everybody in the motherf******* lawn, bring your a** down here.'”
Other injuries included in the court documents were broken bones, torn ligaments and tendons, loss of consciousness, and emotional trauma. After Snoop Dogg and Khalifa were ushered off the stage, the concert was immediately canceled.
42 people hurt when railing collapses at Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa concert in New Jersey https://t.co/BKYqsFO39Q pic.twitter.com/ri1XYi4YyI
— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) August 6, 2016
Concertgoer Katie Colbridge describes the chaotic scene minutes before the railing collapsed. Colbridge claims, “People started piling on each other and people just started running. All you see were tears going down their face. You could see friends holding onto each other, like clenching, like making sure that all their people were there.”
When the incident occurred, Live Nation issued a statement,
“Live Nation is closely following the recovery of the injured fans and employees as well as actively working with authorities and structural engineers to determine the cause of the collapse.”
Mongeluzzi added that the lawsuit holds two primary factors which the plaintiff’s claim led to the collapse.
“A dangerous location of the second stage beneath the uncontrolled lawn area with no barricades controlling crowd flow” and “the artist screaming for fans to surge to the area, which they did.”
Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa Sued — Your Concert Cracked My Spine https://t.co/nrvm95IW44
— TMZ (@TMZ) August 24, 2016
Live Nation operates the BB&T Pavilion. After the event, it is reported they announced they “secured” the collapsed section of railing. According to Associated Press, The operator of the concert venue has declined to comment on the lawsuit that says it failed to keep concertgoers safe.
“I can tell you there is no doubt there was a crowd surge based upon the setup of the lawn with no chairs and no aisles, lack of security … and then the artists telling people to come forward… That’s the setup, and that’s the failure.”
The company has since issued a statement which said they are consulting with authorities and structural engineers to determine the exact cause of the collapse.
What do you think about the pending lawsuit against Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa? Are the musician’s, Live Nation or the stage designers to blame? Sound off in the comments below!
[Photos by David Becker/Stringer/Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images]
