The family of a boy trampled amid a panic over a possible active shooter at a concert headlined by rap star Lil' Durk at the United Center last month has filed suit against the rapper, the venue, concessionaires, and the concert promoters, claiming they should pay for the boy's injuries.
Marcus Sloss, father of a boy identified as J.S., filed a personal injury lawsuit on Aug. 18 in Cook County Circuit Court. The lawsuit named as defendants United Center Joint Venture; At Your Service LLC; Live Nation Entertainment, IHeartMedia + Entertainment; and Lil' Durk also known as Durk Derrick Banks.
The lawsuit accused the defendants of multiple counts of negligence for their alleged mishandling of supposedly false reports of an active shooter on site which reportedly created a panic resulting in injuries when the crowd rushed the exits, purportedly crushing and injuring several people in the fray.
According to the complaint, J.S. and his aunt were attending the 107.5 WGCI Summer Jam concert when it was halted by organizers, allegedly out of concern for a possible active shooter at the event. After allegedly receiving no guidance or instructions from concert organizers as to what was happening, J.S. and his aunt headed out onto the concourse.
At that time, a large number of people allegedly flooded out into the concourse, as rumor of a shooter spread and people panicked. According to the complaint, at that point, J.S. was caught in the rush and was among those thrown to the ground and trampled by the crowd.
The lawsuit alleges that security personnel opened the gate while giving no instructions to the crowd or providing a reasonable system for the entry of a large number of people, failing to prevent people in the crowd from running and pushing.
The complaint asserts concession workers helped J.S. and his aunt to a freezer area, where they were allowed to rest for a short while. But they were then told to leave by other workers who "wished them luck getting to their car safely."
In recent years, the United Center has seen a number of personal personal injury lawsuits. For instance, in 2014, two women claimed they were trampled while entering a Beyoncé concert at the United Center, also promoted by Live Nation. Such lawsuits have claimed that the United Center should have taken preemptive steps to prevent crowd rushing and retained more effective crowd control measures to prevent such incidents from getting out of control.
Sloss is demanding a trial by jury and is seeking damagesof at least $50,000 for medical expenses, plus court costs and legal fees.
Sloss is represented by attorney Daniel J. Biederman Jr., of the Law Office of Danny Biederman, of Chicago.