Dave Matthews Band fan died after chair hit him at Missouri concert venue, lawsuit says
A Dave Matthews Band fan died after a chair thrown at a Missouri concert venue hit him in the head, a lawsuit says.
Jasen Smith, his wife and friends attended the May 2019 concert at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Maryland Heights, Missouri. After the show ended, Smith returned to the venue to grab a souvenir shirt his wife had forgotten at their seats.
His wife began to worry when he didn’t return outside.
“You OK?” she texted him.
Then she called his phone, and it was answered by an employee who said her husband was injured, according to the lawsuit. She found Smith lying unconscious on the ground with blood flowing out his ears and mouth.
According to the lawsuit, employees of Live Nation who were cleaning up the concert venue had been throwing chairs from a grassy lawn area to a sidewalk below. Smith was struck in the head, which caused him to fall back and hit his skull on the concrete, the lawsuit says. The 44-year-old father to twin sons died the next morning.
“Rather than rendering immediate care, (Live Nation’s) employees assumed Jasen was intoxicated, were slow to respond and delayed in providing care to him and in contacting emergency medical and law enforcement personnel,” according to the lawsuit.
Attorneys for Live Nation did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday from McClatchy News. In court documents, the company denied negligence, liability and allegations that Smith was hit in the head by a chair thrown by an employee.
Chip Gentry, the Smith family’s attorney, said in a statement to McClatchy that his law firm will hold accountable those responsible for the tragic death.
“After enjoying an evening with his wife and their friends at a relaxed concert on a Wednesday night, Jasen was killed due to what we believe to be Live Nation’s negligence,” Gentry said.
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