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When most people think of being injured on the job, they think construction zones or other industrial-type environments. However, accidents can and do occur in a variety of workplace settings – – even on the stage of award ceremonies.
According to a recent report by the Hollywood Reporter, rock star Bret Michaels has sued CBS and Tony Award Productions for an on-stage accident that occurred while performing at the 2009 Tonys, which, he said, caused a significant brain injury that almost killed him.
Michaels has claimed that producers of the Tony Awards failed to tell him how to exit the stage properly after he had specifically asked them. Then, at the beginning of the telecast of the show after singing “Nothin’ But a Good Time” with the “Rock of Ages” cast, Michaels was hit in the head with a large sign that came down from the ceiling.
Michaels was hospitalized after the accident with a broken nose and split lip. Six months after the accident, Michaels suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage, which is bleeding beneath tissue covering the brain, that nearly killed him. Michaels and his attorneys have linked the hemorrhage to the Tonys incident.
His complaint to the court reads that “[t]hrough his sheer will to live, Michaels was able to survive this trauma.”
Michaels alleges that he was never told about the descending sign, only that he should exit from the stage rear at the end of the performance.
The complaint also accuses Tony Awards producers of blaming the rocker for the accident and “fail[ing] and refus[ing]” to remedy the situation. The amount sought in damages has not been specified.
Representatives from CBS or the Tonys have not yet commented, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Source: Reuters, “Bret Michaels sues CBS, Tonys over on-stage mishap,” Mark Cina, 3/25/2011.