Indiana Stage Builder Fined for Deadly Collapse

State officials in Indiana handed out a fine over safety violations when a stage collapsed and killed seven people and injured more over the summer.
Indiana Stage Builder Fined for Deadly Collapse
2/8/2012
Updated:
2/8/2012

State officials in Indiana handed out a fine over safety violations when a stage collapsed and killed seven people and injured more over the summer.

On Aug. 13, the outdoor concert stage at the Indiana State Fair collapsed. The Indiana Department of Labor cited Mid-America Sound Corp. for $63,000 for knowing about violations, according to Reuters.

“The evidence demonstrated that the Mid-America Sound Corporation was aware of the appropriate requirements and demonstrated a plain indifference with those requirements,” Indiana Labor Commissioner Lori Torres said.

In December, the state paid out $5 million in claim funds to victims and to the estates of those who died in the accident, reported Indiana Public Media.

Torres, according to The Associated Press, said officials with the Indiana State Fair Commission did not have a good enough plan for evacuating an area during a severe thunderstorm with high winds.

“Plan or no plan, the wind blew over the stage structure,” she told AP. “It was their duty to evacuate timely.”