The family of a minor child, that overdosed after attending a Rave party in the Los Angeles Coliseum, has been awarded nearly $200,000 in a wrongful death lawsuit that had been filed against the stadium, as well as the promoter of the rave party and the former manager of the Coliseum, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
S.R., 15 at the time of her death, took the illegal drug Ecstasy at the rave concert and later died.
According to attorneys for the plaintiff and defendants, promoter Insomnia Inc.'s insurance company paid $175,000 and $15,000 was paid for then-coliseum manager, T.D., by another insurance carrier.
The minimum age for a guest at the rave concert was advertised at 16. Allegedly S.R. was attending the concert without the consent or knowledge of her parents.
Attorney Steven D. Archer represents S.R.'s parents. Archer said that the couple felt that the venue and the promoter were both responsible for the death of their daughter. Archer said, "There has to be oversight to prevent children from being able to gain entry and be put into a position of danger."
Archer added, "These are events that attract people who will use drugs. It's not the kind of environment for children…the tragedy is that it took the death of a 15-year-old girl to focus attention on the Coliseum Commission and the practice of allowing raves on their property."
The chief executive of Insomniac Inc., P.R., and T.D. are currently both facing charges of corruption. Though the charges are not related to the wrongful death lawsuit, P.R. and T.D are accused of being part of a bribery scheme that allegedly exchanged $1.9 million for a guarantee of low-cost access to venues.
Both local police and emergency room doctors have considered raves at the Coliseum to be a lure for drug users. Before February of 2011, when reporters broke the story on the bribes, the Coliseum Committee – a panel of state, county and city representatives – had supported the continued scheduling of rave parties.
Following S.R.'s death, Gary Jay Kaufman, an attorney for Insomniac Inc., said in a statement, "Insomniac was sued for who we were, not what we did. If (S.R.) had snuck into the Hollywood Bowl during a Barry Manilow concert and overdosed on some drug, there never would have been a lawsuit…Insomniac did not admit any wrongdoing or liability as part of the settlement because they did not in fact do anything wrong."
Following S.R.'s death Insomniac barred minors from attending raves.
Attorneys representing the Coliseum Commission panel attest that the lawsuit had no merit. One of the panelists, County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, stated, "The only thing $190,000 settles is which side had better lawyers. Unfortunately, this settlement compounds the tragic death of (S.R.)"
Contact a personal injury lawyer to file a wrongful death lawsuit. And, if you are unsure as to whether you lost a loved one in an actual wrongful death, contact a personal injury lawyer to find out today!