Any attorney on the chat? Does Idina have a case?- Page 2

[Plum]

Posted: 1/9/05 at 10:13pm

Lastly, she is a big name, and future prod. would be dumb not to cast her simply because she demanded compensation for her injuries.

I suggest we wait to see how well Wicked sells post-Menzel and whether she can carry a production on her own before we start calling her a box-office draw sufficiently powerful in producers' minds to offset the risk of losing millions to a lawsuit from her.

And did I mention I despise the entire mindset this thread implies? The worldview that demands a lawsuit in response to any kind of injury? "I'm hurt, so someone else must be responsible, and I'm going to get their money." Lovely. No wonder people hate lawyers. Updated On: 1/9/05 at 10:13 PM

[HumpersTheCamel]

Posted: 1/9/05 at 10:32pm

I recall I time when Sammy the Sheep fell down the platform of the Ark. It was very painful for him he did loose some wool, those damn monkeys were always putting banana peels on the platform. Unfortunatly at Noahs Ark we were under contract not to sue, especially with all those crazy monkeys running around.


Love Always,
Humpers the Camel

[Dreamcatcher]

Posted: 1/10/05 at 1:25am

I doubt she has a case that would go anywhere. I mean all it was was an accident. A simple technical malfunction that cuold happen to anyone and plus, she didnt sustain any serious injury. That and I doubt Idina herself would want to sue the theatre or make legal charges against them for something like this, though I dont know her personally so I cuold be wrong.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 1/10/05 at 1:31am

The only time Idina would so in this matter would be if someone purposely tried to hurt her...as I don't think that is the case, she probably won't sue. Things like this happen. I'm sure her medical bills are being taken care of...

[idinasluvchild]

Posted: 1/10/05 at 1:37am

Kids....please kids....lets not try to make Idina sue people....are you all kidding me? The beauty of live theatre is that things happen...thus it is live....if you fell while doing the kick at the end of A Chorus Line and tripped would you sue the stage manager because of your broke tailbone and claim that he didn't sweep well enough the night before? No dear friend you wouldn't...curtain

there is no case....simply broken ribs...no matter how unfortunate

[Glindafan]

Posted: 1/10/05 at 1:50am

No case here folks; no malice intended either. This was a simple case of timing. the platform had simply left a few seconds early and it will be remedied. Idina has performed this maneuver hundreds of times (Sunday's show was the 500th performance) and nothing like it had occured. Hardly a pattern of negligence or part of a systemic failure. Give it a rest.

[ElphieZ]

Posted: 1/10/05 at 2:23am

I'm an attorney...my thoughts...1) people can sue, and will sue, over ANYTHING. And I mean ANYTHING. I'm on the defense side of those suits and believe me, I have seen it all. I can't stand baseless claims. 2) Of course it can be argued that Idina has a case--one could say that a) someone was negligent in maintaining the trap door and that was the cause of her injuries; or b) the company that manufactured the trap door sold a faulty product, either there is a problem with the equipment or it wasn't maintained in top condition. I'm not saying she could even win if she were to sue, these would be possible arguments of course.

There are other arguments one could make BUT, filing a lawsuit can do a lot to your reputation, especially in the entertainment industry. It's emotional, you can burn a lot of bridges, and waste a lot of money (which ultimately goes to the attorneys, not the parties!). Like others have said on this message boad, whatever happened was an accident and Idina probably is good friends with everyone--the last thing she might want to do is bring legal action and put a great financial burden on the show that made her a Tony winner. Her injuries would I believe be covered by workers' comp, and I'm pretty sure the union's coverage will pay her for med fees, etc.

I'm always for only suing if you REALLY have been "wronged." Unfortunately some people feel like they should be compensated even when they haven't been wronged...or said another way, they have a skewed vision of what being "wronged" means!

(btw, disclaimer here, none of what i said is intended as legal advice!)

Updated On: 1/10/05 at 02:23 AM

[musicalfandukie]

Posted: 1/10/05 at 3:31am

america is sue happy i tell ya!! i really doubt she will sue a show she has been apart of and probably gotten really close with the last year. mistakes happen.

[ckeaton]

Posted: 1/10/05 at 9:39am

This is precisely why I believe that overly litigious people should be locked in a basement for all time, and most sleazy lawyers who seek personal injury cases should be shot.

[QueenMuppet]

Posted: 1/10/05 at 9:42am

If it was her intention to sue them I doubt she would have been at yesterday's show joking about the whole matter.

ETA: I remember an incident in London's West End. In the show Notre Dame De Paris one character fell off a bridge because he wasn't secured enough. He did sue them, don't know if we won though.

QM

Updated On: 1/10/05 at 09:42 AM

[mallybleu]

Posted: 1/10/05 at 10:20am

What was the incident w/ Adam and Heather during Aida? I'm curious and I didn't know anything happened.

[QueenMuppet]

Posted: 1/10/05 at 10:24am

At the pre-Broadway run in Chicago they used to lift the tomb and one night it came crashing down with the two of them in it. They decided to leave the tomb firmly on the ground after that.

QM

[mallybleu]

Posted: 1/10/05 at 12:26pm

Oh wow! I didn't know that. Thanks!

[Katecab99]

Posted: 1/10/05 at 12:27pm

THIS IS LIVE THEATER...stuff like this happens, unfortunatley.

[SamIAm]

Posted: 1/10/05 at 4:07pm

Neglect would be the only case anyone would have in this instance.

Actors who are 'flying' and working with trap doors are under contract and they are also trained on how to use these devices and the safety guidelines.

It's unclear from the reports whether she misstepped or there was a malfunction but S**T happens.

As it did with Nathan Lane in the Frogs and it is VERY doubtful that Idina would feel the need to consult an attorney.

A cracked rib is painful but she isn't DYING of a terminal disease next week.

I wish her well and that she will recover soon and get out of this bad cycle of her life with death threats toward her husband an unfortunate injuries...but let's put this in perspective. People get hurt working on stage sometimes...she's not the first and she won't be the last.

Hope she has the time to rest and recuperate and gets a decent break from the craziness...

[Lorelai]

Posted: 1/11/05 at 3:14pm

::sighs::

Ok, I responded to Marlothom about this via PM when it was first posted with the hope that would be the end of it but I guess not....

First, I'm not a lawyer, I work in the ent. industry but I'm attending law school so I have something to fall back on. My mother, on the other hand, is employment lawyer and we've discussed this and it actually came up last night in a conversation with several lawyers and some thoughts were thrown around about it.

Of course some of this depends on her contract and there were some questions when it came to the platform in question. But since no one was familiar with the show or exactly what happened, it was dropped and since I was by far the most unexperienced at the table, I didn't make a point to jump in until my mother outted me by mentioned I've seen the show "at least 25 times" (it's 11 and she knows it!) so I did my best to explain what I knew.

Anyway, in this case Idina is considered an employee....since this her JOB she is entitled to workers compensation because she was injured while working. This is NOT the same as suing. WC is basically a no fault act that covers medical expenses or any other costs that come about as a result of the injury (for example, if this injury prevented Idina from being able to work again she would be compensated in such a way that she would received money set forth by a schedule.

WC also protects the employer since it is exclusive, so if an employee collecting WC as a result of an injury, the employer is protected from any further action by the employee (i.e a lawsuit) relating to that particular incident..

However, she may be able to sue based on "negligence not foreseen..." but that depends on what exactly happened. So basically if someone was in charge of the platform it should have checked and rechecked to be sure no one was in danger. If it could have been prevented and Idina in no way contributed to the accident by missing a mark or something, they can be held responsible.

Hope that helps?

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 1/11/05 at 3:16pm

*salivates over all these law schoolers and lawyers*

Anyone care to PM me? I've been wanting to go to law school since I was 6, and I'm writing my LSAT again in February. How did you find the exam, and is it actually relevant to what you learn??

[ElphieZ]

Posted: 1/11/05 at 3:33pm

Yes, Idina is for sure able to make receive worker's comp in the employment law context. And negligence would be in a tort context...but I don't foresee her going there anytime soon. She'd not only upset the people she worked with (unless there was true and obvious and unacceptable negligence), but most likely her fans and EVERYONE on this message board!

As for the LSATs, its relevant, but don't let people who tell you its determinative of how you'll do on the bar exam. I know plenty of people who sucked on the LSATs and passed the bar on the first time (exceptionally hard in CA), while others who rocked on the LSAT's had to take the bar multiple times.

Type_A_Tiff: I would have PMed you but your icon is frightening.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 1/11/05 at 3:39pm

<-- my headshot


What was your specialization in law school? It's frustrating because my logical reasoning and reading comprehension sections are great (and personally, I think those abilities are more useful than those horrible logic games) and I hate that this will be considered indicative of my success in law school and will likely be the factor in whether or not I get in.

[Plum]

Posted: 1/11/05 at 3:58pm

TIFF! The av...I'm begging you...yech. I'll custom-make you a new av if you want one, but...please. Stop the ew.