Crowd surfing is a common ritual at rock concerts, much like mosh pits or stage diving.
The practice, though, can harm bystanders, a woman from Hoffman Estates says in a lawsuit filed this week. The woman alleges that a crowd surfer fell on her and injured her during Riot Fest in September at Chicago’s Douglas Park.
Nina Zurawel filed the lawsuit Wednesday in Cook County Circuit Court against Riot Fest Corp., Riot Fest co-founder Michael Petryshyn, security company Safety Service Systems Inc. and concert promoter React Presents Inc. However, React Presents is not involved with Riot Fest but instead is affiliated with other local music festivals like North Coast and Spring Awakening.
The lawsuit says Zurawel attended the music fest Sept. 17 and was 200 to 300 feet away from the stage where the rock band Brand New was performing when “a large male fan” began crowd surfing. When the crowd began chanting “drop him,” the woman unsuccessfully tried to get away from the crowd surfer but couldn’t, the lawsuit claimed, and the man was dropped onto her leg.
The complaint, which seeks damages in excess of $50,000, said the woman’s ankle was fractured. It alleged the defendants were negligent by allowing crowd surfing and failing to provide adequate security and crowd control.
Riot Fest and Petryshyn declined comment through their attorney. The security company also said it could not comment on the pending litigation.
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