This structural collapse attorney recently read that Indiana’s lawmakers so far are taking a wait and see approach before they change any laws in response to the stage collapse at the 2011 Indiana State Fair. Some discussion is under way to raise the state’s liability cap from $5 million to $15 million. $5 million represents a paltry sum for a case like the State Fair stage collapse, which killed and injured so many people. But some legislators have already raised strong objections to the idea of raising the cap.
Uncertainty also remains whether evacuation and emergency procedures will change. The State Fair might change some of its procedures independently. As yet, officials and lawmakers seem content to wait and see the results of the investigations conducted by two independent firms hired by the state. Those results won’t be available until at least mid-April 2012.
In the meantime, injured victims of the State Fair stage collapse, and surviving family members of those who needlessly died in the collapse, have filed more than 60 lawsuits. Their structural collapse attorneys no doubt have commenced investigations of their own.
One thing is clear. Many mistakes played a part in the State Fair stage collapse and in the injuries and fatalities resulting from it. Officials did not cancel the planned stage performance, when other outdoor venues around the region did cancel theirs. Officials did not make a timely evacuation of the area. Procedures and communications lines seem to have been unclear or confused in the matter.
The speakers hanging above the stage appear to have dropped like rocks. They may have been hung with shackles not rated for overhead lifting, or they may have been hung with shackles on a 1:1 weight ratio. It’s always safer to have at least a 3:1 margin, preferably a 10:1 for outdoor public performances where wind could present a factor.
The stage itself was about 15 years old. After 15 years of use through all kinds of weather conditions, it might no longer have been fit for use.
The state’s current liability cap might limit the amount of compensation that victims harmed by the State Fair stage collapse could obtain from Indiana for the state’s negligence in the matter. But other negligent parties might share the blame for the disastrous structural collapse accident. Victims’ personal injury structural collapse attorneys will no doubt be diligent in identifying all of the parties at fault to ensure that their clients have a fair opportunity to receive just compensation for the harm they’ve suffered because of this horrific, but preventable, accident.