Illinois Man Files Lawsuit Against Apollo Theater After Roof Collapse

An Illinois man has filed a lawsuit against Apollo Theater after he was injured in a roof collapse during a tornado. The plaintiff alleges that the defendants took no precautions to safeguard a metal concert that was set to occur the day of the tornado despite the fact that there were several tornado warnings throughout the day.

Several individuals sustained injuries as a result of the roof collapse. The lawsuit doesn’t say what specific injuries the plaintiff sustained, but they were described as “orthopedic”. There were roughly 260 people inside the theater when the roof collapse occurred. Any individuals who sustained an injury during the roof collapse would be able to file a personal injury lawsuit against the theater.

Premises liability lawsuits in Champaign, IL 

To successfully win a premises liability claim, you must establish negligence on behalf of the proprietor. In many cases, this means establishing that the incident that led to your injury was foreseeable. In the case mentioned above, the parties who sustained injury at the Apollo Theater contend that the owners set up an unsafe situation by failing to heed weather warnings throughout the day. When the building was hit by an EF-1 tornado, it was foreseeable that injury could occur. The plaintiffs contend that the Apollo Theater should have canceled the event or otherwise taken measures to safeguard their customers. Instead, the defendants chose to move forward with the event so that they could make money from their guests.

Injured victims are claiming that the defendants violated their duty of care to the guests by allowing the concert to move forward.

Analyzing the defense 

The defendants can claim that the tornado was an act of God and that they are not responsible for the injuries that occurred. Their guests would have also known that there was a tornado risk throughout the day and assumed some responsibility for choosing to go out. That argument, however, is unlikely to make these claims against the Apollo Theater go away. The theater did owe its customers a duty of care to ensure that they were safe on the property. Several sustained injuries as the tornado caused the roof to collapse. Those individuals would be owed money from the theater related to their medical expenses, lost wages, and reduced quality of life. There are likely to be more lawsuits filed against the theater than the aforementioned.

Elements of negligence 

The plaintiffs will contend that the defendants were negligent in not postponing the concert or canceling the event altogether. They placed their customers at risk and created a hazardous environment for those customers. Ultimately, it looks likely that these allegations will stick and that the owners of the Apollo Theater will have to pay plaintiffs for their injuries.

Talk to a Champaign, IL Premises Liability Lawyer Today 

The Champaign, IL personal injury attorneys at Patel Law, PC represent the interests of plaintiffs in lawsuits filed against proprietors who leave a dangerous condition on their property. Call our office today to schedule a free consultation and learn more about how we can help.

Source:

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