Bret Michaels Is Coming To Town! (To Sue People)

Michaels after the Tony Awards

In 2009 Bret Michaels performed at the Tony Awards and was walloped in the head with a descending backdrop as he exited the stage; six months later he suffered a brain hemorrhage that nearly killed him. He promptly filed a lawsuit against the awards show, and now the NY Times reports that the two parties will reunite right here in New York.

Earlier this week Judge Dolly M. Gee in Los Angeles ruled that Michaels's case should be heard in New York, where the incident took place, and where most witnesses reside. Currently there is no date set for the trial.

The lawsuit states that "Through his sheer will to live, to see his children grow up, Michaels was able to survive this trauma." Though the injury isn't the only beef the Poison frontman has with CBS, it also points to a problem he has with the network choosing to air the incident, which they didn't have to do, and which quickly became passed around the internet.

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By Jen Carlson in Arts & Entertainment on July 7, 2011 1:21 PM

Comments [rss]

brooklynRick

Um check your blocking next time. If he didint have to use that hat to cover up his extension maybe he would have seen the backdrop coming down. No way it had anything to do with his brain hemmorage

DTSU

The responsibility for the backdrop was with the crew members who flew it in and out. The performers are supposed to watch where they are, but the backdrop was way too close to him. Who blocked that exit?! If he had walked more quickly it still would have just missed his head. You NEVER block something so that the backdrop just misses the performer's head, particularly when it's something like a one-time performance where there will not be a lot of practice time, even if the performer shows up for every single rehearsal. It came down way too quickly for him to move out of the way. It was the crew's job to make sure that the scenery flew in safely, without hitting anyone. The cardinal rule in stagecraft is that if there's any chance a performer is in apparent danger or is too close to the pyro/moving set
piece/etc., you STOP it, regardless if it screws up the show.

He has every right to sue, and I hope he wins. He got hit in the head and he has diabetes, which can interfere with healing,.,it's pretty
reasonable to think it could have contributed to that brain hemorrhage.