The family of a woman killed during a stage collapse at a Camrose, Alberta, festival in August 2009 has filed suit seeking more than $5 million from the promoter, the city and other companies.
Donna Moore was reportedly seated in VIP bleachers next to the stage at the Big Valley Jamboree when a storm caused the stage to collapse. She was crushed in the wreckage.
According to documents obtained by CBC News, the suit claims festival organizers failed to “maintain a suitable policy, system or mechanism by which timely and accurate weather reports” could alert staff of coming storms and claims the stage was unsafe.
Other victims of the collapse have also sued organizers over the accident, in which 15 people were injured.
Two women onstage during the collapse have each sued for $500,000, the CBC said, alleging they suffered physical and emotional damage.
While a provincial workplace safety commission investigated the incident, the results were never released. Federal prosecutors are reportedly reviewing the results and were expected to issue a decision whether to pursue criminal charges at press time.