![]() ![]() He said concert organizers "have a duty to warn of danger and take reasonable measures to correct that danger." ![]() "The concert industry is now on notice that these kinds of actions are unreasonably dangerous," Webb said, referring to crowd surfing and stage diving. Webb sees the Stone settlement as a strong message to concert organizers of their responsibility to provide a safe environment. However, at the concert where Stone and 30 others were injured, the security company was instructed to "let the crowd take care of themselves," according to the Stones' attorney, Ron Webb, referring to a security official's testimony in a deposition. At the Tacoma Dome, stage diving is discouraged and signs are often posted warning of the dangers, said the venue's director, Mike Combs. At a Marilyn Manson concert at Mercer Arena in March last year, signs were posted throughout the venue, prohibiting crowd surfing and stage diving. In the Seattle area, as in most other cities, bands and promoters decide whether to allow crowd surfing and stage diving. One survey cites at least 10 deaths and more than 1,000 injuries resulting from just 15 U.S. cities and some bands to ban crowd surfing and stage diving, but there are no national standards for concert safety, and no one has exact numbers on how many people are injured in mosh pits every year. The injuries have prompted a handful of U.S. But the increasing frequency of serious injuries - including broken bones, brain damage and paralysis - is shining a spotlight on what some critics see as fun and freedom pushed to irresponsible limits. Most concerts do not result in injuries and deaths. "But it will - it's a business," his father, Randy Stone, said. "We don't want this to happen to any other kid," said Scott's mother, Cathy Stone. The Bothell family agreed to be interviewed because they say they want their experience to be a warning to other parents. The Stones, who signed nondisclosure agreements with the other parties, say they are satisfied with the settlement and want to move on with their lives.īut they are angry at what they characterize as an out-of-control concert industry with a propensity for putting profits over people. The city's share of the settlement, covered under the security company's insurance policy, was $400,000, according to an assistant city attorney. Stone's parents reached an out-of-court settlement last month with the band, city, concert promoter and security company contracted for the September 1996 event. His fall to Mercer Arena's cement floor left him with permanent brain damage. Leaving his seat to join the fans packed in front of the stage, the then 14-year-old suddenly found himself hoisted up in the arms of strangers, being passed back, over the heads of other concertgoers, until there was no one left to catch him. Stone had gone to see an all-ages show by the California band Rage Against the Machine. Scott Stone doesn't remember the night he fell from the hands of a mosh-pit throng at a Seattle rock concert, but he bears its mark: a crescent-shaped scar that starts at his temple and disappears in his buzz-cut brown hair. ![]()
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