INDIANAPOLIS — Attorneys on behalf of a Michigan man filed a complaint seeking damages and a request for a jury trial after the man fell during a concert at Lucas Oil Stadium from an upper level into the seats below.
The defendants listed in the complaint are Capital Improvement Board of Managers; Indiana Stadium and Convention Building Authority; and Service America Corporation, doing business as Sodexo Live!
According to the complaint, Jonathan G. Bruckbauer, of Jenison, Michigan, attended the Aug. 16, 2022, concert featuring Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, Poison and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts.
The complaint says Bruckbauer went to the concession area near his seat around 9:45 p.m. When Bruckbauer was returning to his seat, he allegedly lost his balance, tripped down the stairs, went over the fifth floor glass balcony and fell approximately 15 feet, where the complaint says he landed straddling the fourth floor glass partition.
Bruckbauer claims his fall was a "direct and proximate result of the excessive service of alcohol by Sodexo Live!" during the concert after he says he was "visibly intoxicated and overserved," according to the complaint.
In the complaint, Bruckbauer's attorneys claim the defendants had a duty to prevent serving alcohol to Bruckbauer to the point of intoxication, and once he reached the point of visible intoxication, the defendants should have stopped serving him additional alcoholic drinks.
As a direct result of the incident, the complaint alleges Bruckbauer has incurred medical expenses, attorney fees and other monetary losses and damages. The complaint also says Bruckbauer "sustained life-altering injuries resulting in pain, suffering, and physical and emotional impairment to which he has been required to engage the services of many physicians and hospitals to treat such injuries."
The complaint says Bruckbauer's injuries are permanent and will require medical treatment.
Bruckbauer's wife, Melissa, is also listed as a plaintiff because she has "suffered a loss of support, services, society, love and affection and acts of kindness of Bruckbauer."
The complaint alleges the Bruckbauers "have been injured and damaged as a direct and proximate result of the carelessness and negligence of the defendants."
13News spoke with several people that night who said the incident.
"We seen a figure. At first, we didn't think it was a person, we thought it, you know, they had been tossing volleyballs and different stuff around the crowd. But when you heard the thud twice, then we knew it was a person," Steven Neeley said. "You could hear the audible gasps over the music playing."
"Everyone was just kind of standing around looking, trying to figure out what to do, who to talk to, who to get to come over to the landing and check the person out," Krista Neeley said. "We didn't know if they were breathing or not breathing or what was going on."
Steven Neeley said a nurse who had been sitting nearby came to the man's aid, followed by deputies and then paramedics.
Dave Earlywine and his wife were only a few sections away when they heard the commotion.
“It was dark, so you couldn’t really see who it was, but you see this full-size body come over and start flipping, and when he hit the ground, almost everybody was in shock,” Earlywine said. “Nobody really moved for at least 20 seconds. They were just trying to figure out what just happened.”
One day after the incident, Lucas Oil Stadium released the following statement:
"Lucas Oil Stadium and our contractors work tirelessly to maintain the highest safety standards and best practices with regard to the physical structure and operations of the stadium, including observation of the NFL's standards. Additionally, every person that works or volunteers with Sodexo Live!, our food service provider, must complete rigorous training around service of food and alcohol."