ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — A settlement has been reached in the 2019 death of a man who was struck by a chair thrown by a Live Nation employee after a concert in Maryland Heights.
The family of Jasen Smith filed a wrongful death lawsuit was filed in 2020 against Live Nation, which operates the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, seeking money for medical bills and funeral expenses. The amount and terms of the settlement are confidential, according to lawyer Charles Gentry, who represented Smith's widow, Darcy Smith.
"The settlement represents a significant step toward justice and closure for the Smith family," Gentry said in a statement. "While no amount of money can truly compensate for their loss, we believe that this resolution will provide them with the resources they need to build a brighter future and allow true healing to begin."
According to the lawsuit, on May 15, 2019, Smith and his wife were leaving a Dave Matthews Band concert at the amphitheater when his wife realized she left her souvenir shirt behind and Smith went back to get it.
Unknown to Smith, the lawsuit said Live Nation employees were breaking down hundreds of rental chairs on the large grassy slope above the amphitheater known as "the lawn," which is directly above a pedestrian concrete walkway known as "the moat."
Instead of carrying rental chairs down, employees were throwing chairs down the lawn, toward and into the moat, often launching them several feet into the air or bouncing them off the ground or off one another, the lawsuit claimed.
“On information and belief, in the process of retrieving his wife’s T-shirt, as Jasen walked in the moat he was suddenly and without warning struck violently in the head by a rental chair carelessly thrown by one of Live Nation’s employees,” the lawsuit said. The force of the impact caused him to fall backward, striking the back of his skull on the concrete and resulting in a fatal brain injury.
Smith texted her husband after he didn’t return for several minutes. She then called his phone, which was answered by an employee who directed her to her husband's location. He was found lying on the ground unconscious and unresponsive.
“Rather than rendering immediate care, Live Nation employees assumed Jasen was intoxicated, were slow to respond and delayed in providing care to him and in contacting emergency medical and law enforcement personnel,” the lawsuit claimed, adding that Smith was not intoxicated.
In a statement, Darcy Smith thanked friends, family and others involved with the lawsuit for their "understanding and compassion."
"The settlement will help my sons and me move forward and create a new beginning for our family. We thank everyone who stood by us during this difficult journey," she said.
