Bret Michaels almost died last year of a brain hemorrhage which he believes was caused by a severe injury he sustained while performing at the June 2009 Tony Awards, ten months prior to the hemorrhage.
Michaels has now filed a lawsuit against Tony Award Productions, CBS and other defendants in L.A. County Superior Court claiming negligence, civil battery, negligent misrepresentation and negligent interference with prospective economic advantage and has asked for an unspecified amount of damages.
“One of the most common causes of this type of hemorrhage is head trauma — exactly like the one Michaels suffered at the hands of the Tony Awards,” the lawsuit alleges.
Here is a statement by Bret’s law firm explaining why the rocker is now suing: “Although he had already suffered significant damages in the period immediately following the incident, Michaels tried to turn the other cheek and was reluctant to take the matter to Court. Accordingly, Michaels and his legal team made several efforts to resolve the matter amicably and out-of-court. The producers of the Tony Awards refused, telling Michaels to pound proverbial sand and not even offering so much as an apology. Nonetheless, Michaels, having well earned his reputation as the kind of guy who can take a punch, was still willing walk away. All that changed when Michaels was almost killed by his injuries and he was forced to think about the fact that because of the Tony Awards, his daughters might grow up without their father.”
Back in 2009 when the folks at Tony Awards tried to brush off the incident as a no big thing, Bret’s rep released a scathing statement about the incident which reads in part:
“I find it surprising that a Tony spokesperson would brush off this incident with a comment stating ‘Mr. Michaels missed his mark’ with no mention of concern for his condition. If everyone at the Tonys were aware that Bret missed his mark then they should have been aware enough to stop the set piece from hitting him or at least slowed it down until he cleared the stage.
I feel had this incident happened to Liza Minnelli, Dolly Parton or Elton John the Tonys would have at least issued a letter of concern.
Bret has performed live, with Poison or solo, for over 20 years and on a daily basis is around pyro, lasers and a moving light show. He understands that there is always an element of risk in any live performance, but Bret entrusts his safety to the crew whose job it is to make sure the show goes off without a hitch and should any member of the band be in harm’s way that they do not complete the gag.
However in this situation Bret was not on his stage but was at the mercy of the Tonys. He was performing on the Tonys stage and had the reasonable expectation that that safety of the artist was a priority and at no time did he do anything over the top or outlandish that would have put himself or others in a dangerous situation.”
This is just a bad situation. Good luck Bret – I hope you win this!