Re: Band liability, or getting your a$% sued

Dan wrote:
So our guitarist sees a portable stripper pole online.
The nimrod buys it without the rest of the band being asked.

At first it was funny, but after speaking with people the potential
liability of that thing
is making me think we need to stop using it.

Am I over-blowing this issue? drunks + pole = injuries & lawsuits

At best this will force us to incorporate to protect our homes, etc.
if we are sued.

Maybe I am looking at tghis all wrong?

Thanks in advance!

You're not overblowing the issue at all. You should look at all your band equipment the same way -- a 75-pound PA cab at the top of an aluminum stand, sitting on top of cables running across a poorly-built stage, is also a dangerous thing. I represented a band a few years ago that got sued because one tipped over and hit a lady's leg. The moral of the story is, it's not just stripper poles.

Remember that incorporating, or forming an LLC or other limited-liability entity, will not protect you from liability due to your own personal negligence. I.e., if you're the guy that sets up the stripper pole, and you didn't anchor it properly (or whatever you do to set up stripper poles), then if someone gets hurt, you can't avoid responsibility by saying, "We're a corporation." You're always responsible for your own personal negligence. In that case, having the corporation just creates one more potential defendant.

Incorporating and having liability insurance is the best answer. Eliminating dangerous equipment, setting up equipment carefully to avoid dangerous situations, and keeping people away from the equipment, is important.
.

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