Comments on Advance Indiana™: State Fair Commission Retains Engineering Firm To Investigate Stage Rigging Collapse

If you want to deflect attention away from state f...

2011-08-17T09:00:12.508-05:00

If you want to deflect attention away from state fair officials, the best way to do it is to show the stage rigging was defective or erected below industry standards. Plaintiffs attorneys will love that because they can recover more from the stage operator than they can recover from the state in a tort action.

Oh geez, what a lawyer fest. possible causes of th...

2011-08-16T22:04:59.590-05:00

Oh geez, what a lawyer fest.
possible causes of the stage rigging collapse
1) the manufacturer did not specify a maximum safe wind load or was otherwise deficient in design. (Of course, there was probably a documented limit).
2) the stage riggers did not install the rigging per manufacturer specifications (Of course, the installers had setup and taken down this rig multiple times, and most likely had a checklist for the installation).
3) the backdrop was not accounted for in determining safe wind load (pretty likely as these are added per performers instructions and added after the manufacturer calculated maximum wind load and installation instructions).
4) the promoters (state fair board) failed to recognize the danger from the storm and its high wind speeds (maybe the storm occurred faster than predicted or the winds were more intense).
5) maybe a combination of any of the above
6) collapse may not have been predictable.

Sorry, but the cause is that the storm blew the structure down. The real question is whether or not the collapse was predictable,could have been avoided, or could have occurred with no loss of life.

I'm surprised that Thornton Tomasetti would be...

2011-08-16T15:33:35.534-05:00

I'm surprised that Thornton Tomasetti would be hired after the fiasco with the Central Library, a case I believe they are still litigating. http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/pdf/08110608jgb.pdf