NU Online News Service, Aug. 16, 3:11 p.m. EST
Paul Bassman says he was saddened by the deadly stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair last weekend.
"It was the most horrific thing I've seen in a long time, if not in my career," says Bassman, president of Doodson Insurance Brokerage, the U.S. arm of U.K.-based Doodson Broking Group.
Bassman's former company, CSI Entertainment Insurance, was acquired by Doodson earlier this year. Doodson places insurance coverage and provides risk management for many of the largest festivals and touring acts worldwide.
The band Sugarland was just about to take the stage Saturday at about 8:30 p.m. when a storm kicked up. At first, the wind ripped a tarp from the top of the giant stage rigging and then the structure crumpled to the ground on top of dozens of people.
Five people died. According to reports, about two dozen people went to the hospital for injuries.
Bassman says every vendor at the state fair should have been required to sign a "hold-harmless agreement" and name the fair as an additional insured. It is not uncommon for a risk manager to be involved in the execution of contracts and collecting certificates. Some events are extremely well risk-managed while others fall toward the other end of the spectrum, he says.
Bassman could only speculate because he is not aware of the contract terms or with whom they were signed, but typically a band in the situation of Sugarland would be paid since they were willing and able to perform, but could not due to circumstances out of its control, he says. There may or may not have been a cancellation policy in place for the event, he adds.
The same goes for acts that like Janet Jackson and Lady Antebellum, whose scheduled appearances during the fair have been canceled.
State officials and those responsible for erecting and operating the stage are investigating the incident. According to USA Today, Indiana does not regulate outdoor stages and did not inspect the stage at the fair.
Bassman says insurance for claims of bodily injury due to negligence should fall under a contractor's general liability coverage. But again, Bassman could only speculate on the terms of insurance taken out by the state or the production company it hired.
"There are possibly dozens of companies involved with the stage—rigging, staging roof, lighting, sound, the stage itself—everyone can get dragged into a lawsuit," Bassman says.
Bassman recalls the fire that killed 100 people at The Station nightclub in Rhode Island in 2003. Brewer Anheuser-Busch and local distributor McLaughlin & Moran agreed to pay victims' families $21 million. In lawsuits, the companies were blamed by survivors and victims' relatives for helping to promote the concert.
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