A woman has sued the operators of the United Center in Chicago, claiming she was severely injured while attending an Elton John concert at the arena in 2022 when a security guard forced her to pass too near a metal detector, causing a spinal implant to shut off.
Plaintiff Lindsey Zachary filed the lawsuit on Feb. 2 in Cook County Circuit Court against defendants, including the United Center Joint Venture, Jeffrey Peraino, AEG Presents LLC, and AEG Presents Chicago LLC.
The suit alleges that while attending an Elton John concert at the United Center on Feb. 5, 2022, she was forced by a security guard to pass too close to a metal detector, allegedly despite displaying a medical information card which indicated she had a spinal implant - a Boston Scientific Spinal Cord Stimulator - which could not pass through the electromagnetic field generated by the metal detector security screening devices in use at the United Center on that evening.
According to Boston Scientific's instructions, individuals with this type of implant should not go through or near metal detectors as it can interfere with the device's wireless communication and potentially cause severe pain or permanent damage, the complaint said.
While security did not force her to pass through the metal detector, the complaint asserts security compelled her to walk too near the detector, which allegedly caused her spinal implant to shut off, allegedly causing her severe pain and injury at the time, and led to her undergoing further surgeries to replace the implant.
Zachary is represented by attorneys Dean B. Chalmers and Jay C. Orseno, of Chalmers & Nagel P.C., of Winnetka.