A member of the Weeknd's stage crew is suing concert promoter Live Nation, claiming he was run over by a forklift while preparing the stage for a performance in Dallas, Texas last year.
According to Pitchfork, Steve Genovese has filed a complaint in Dallas County District Court, stating that he was injured while working for a company contracted by Live Nation to build the stage for the Weeknd’s AT&T Stadium concert on August 14, 2022. The accident occurred five days earlier on August 9, when Genovese claims his leg was run over by a forklift.
“While marking the floor for the stage dimensions, [Genovese] was run over by a forklift which was being operated by another worker on site,” the complaint states. “As a result, [he] suffered severe, excruciatingly painful and permanently disabling injuries to his leg. The flesh and muscle were torn away from [his] leg and were detached from the bones.”
The Weeknd is not named in the suit, however, along with Live Nation, Genovese is suing concert promoter C3 Presents, David Weise & Associates and Cowboys Stadium, LP, which runs the AT&T Stadium complex.
The lawsuit alleges counts of negligence, gross negligence and negligent hiring, adding that the “defendants had the knowledge, ability, and duty to prevent the severe and life-altering injuries inflicted on [Genovese]. Instead, [they] placed more value on their own financial gain than on the safety of the workers who helped put on The Weeknd concert.
“[Genovese] spent more than a month in the hospital where he underwent numerous surgeries to save his leg, which is now horrifically and permanently disfigured and impaired.”
The plaintiff is seeking damages for his alleged medical expenses, pain, suffering, anguish, distress, loss of earnings, attorney’s fees, and more.
The Weeknd's After Hours Til Dawn Tour will wrap up in Santiago, Chile on October 15.