New Information About Safety Precautions At Wood Dale Prairie Festival
Posted by Mark Bello
January 21, 2016 11:16 AM
January 21, 2016 11:16 AM
The Legal Examiner Farmington Hills is brought to you by Lawsuit Financial Corp
Lawsuit Financial Corp
(877) 377-7848www.lawsuitfinancial.com
7115 Orchard Lake Rd
Suite 320
West Bloomfield, Michigan 48322
[Show Map]
Personal Injury Lawyers Serving:
Lawsuit Financial is located in West Bloomfield, MI, a suburb of Detroit, MI. However, we are a national company and serve attorneys and plaintiffs, nationwide. We currently provide lawsuit funding in 44 states. The states we, currently, cannot provide service in are North Carolina, South Carolina, Kansas, Colorado, Louisiana and Tennessee.
Archives
Categories
- Automobile Accidents
- Defective & Dangerous Products
- FDA & Prescription Drugs
- Head & Brain Injuries
- Mass Transit (Airline, Cruise Ship, Train, Bus)
- Medical Devices & Implants
- Medical Malpractice
- Miscellaneous
- Motorcycle Accidents
- Nursing Home & Elder Abuse
- Property Owner's Liability (Slip & Fall)
- Spinal Cord Injuries
- Toxic Substances
- Tractor-Trailer Accidents
- Uncategorized
- Workplace Discrimination
- Workplace Injuries
- Wrongful Death
Subscribe to The Legal Examiner
Keep up with the latest updates using your favorite RSS reader

Since 2009, Wood Dale has been accredited by the National Weather Service as a Storm Ready agency, a designation that means the city is “better prepared to save lives from the onslaught of severe weather through advanced planning, education and awareness,” the weather service states on its website. “No community is storm proof, but Storm Ready can help communities save lives,” it says. Then, what happened during the annual Prairie Fest on August 2, 2015, the day a strong storm caused a tent to collapse, killing one person and injuring an estimated 20 others?
Months later, records indicate that officers were aware that the major storm was bearing down on the festival, but did not activate a general evacuation of the area or act decisively at key moments. In fact, two audio segments of police radio communication and a 911 call show that police were still trying to determine a course of action as the storm quickly descended on the event. Records also show that, despite a tentative agreement to use a nearby school as shelter, officials did not confirm a formal procedure or direct people there during the storm. An estimated 100 people were in and near the tent at the time the storm hit.
This was not the first time that tragedy struck an outside venue. In 2011, a powerful storm caused a stage to collapse at the Indiana State Fair. Steel scaffolding sailed into the crowd killing at least five people, and injuring at least 45 as they waited for the start of a performance by the country band, Sugarland. In 2012, a tent collapse at Kilroys in downtown St. Louis. With 200 fans packed into Kilroy’s beer garden tent, a powerful gust of straight line winds tore down the tent, sending metal rods flying and injuring a hundred people. One man in the tent was struck by lightning and died of a heart attack.
While a storm can’t be prevented, these incidents call into question several issues.
As questions continue, over two dozen people have filed lawsuits. The defendants will surely litigate exhaustively contending that Acts of God are not commensurable under Illinois law, that weather is unpredictable and the storm was much stronger than anyone could have anticipated. They will most likely argue that some or all of the victims’ injuries resulted from their own fault and that event goers should have been aware of the storm and knew that the tent was not a safe place. These should never be factors. It is apparent that organizers were aware of the risk, thereby giving proper cause to terminate the event and instruct attendees to seek immediate shelter. Public safety should never be needlessly endangered, despite financial loss. Safety at these venues needs to include more than just crowd control.
Mark Bello is the CEO and General Counsel of Lawsuit Financial Corporation, a pro-justice lawsuit funding company.