At least 26 people have been hospitalized following a Bedford Park tent collapse in a Cintas parking lot. GWC Injury Lawyers is currently representing victims of a similar incident that took place at Wood Dale’s Prairie Fest in 2015.
Bedford Park Tent Collapse Under Investigation
The Bedford Park tent collapse took place on the early morning of September 14, 2023. According to Bedford Park Police Chief Tom Hansen, a tent had been set up in the Cintas parking lot at 5600 W. 73rd St. when part of it collapsed at around 10:45 a.m.
Emergency crews from several neighboring cities arrived to assist at the scene. At least 26 people were injured in the Bedford Park tent collapse and transported to area hospitals for treatment. Five of the victims have been listed in serious condition.
Police continue to investigate the cause of the collapse, which was not immediately known. However, foul play is not suspected at this time.
GWC Representing Victims of a Similar Incident
GWC Injury Lawyers is currently representing nine victims of another tent collapse that took place eight years ago in Wood Dale, IL.
On August 2, 2015, a crowded tent at the City of Wood Dale’s annual Prairie Fest celebration collapsed during a thunderstorm, with two of the firm’s nine clients dying from their injuries. GWC filed suit on behalf of the Plaintiffs, naming Classic Party Rentals and The City of Wood Dale as the main Defendants, alleging multiple acts of negligence uncovered by GWC’s litigators.
Prior to the event, Wood Dale entered into an agreement with Classic Party Rentals to rent a 12,600 sq. ft. double pole tent. At that time, the applicable fire code in Wood Dale required all tents larger than 400 sq. ft. to be permitted. The permitting process would have mandated the submission of the tent erection procedures, equipment, and engineering drawings to Wood Dale’s building and engineering department for review, as well as formal inspections during and after erection and before use to ensure its safety. Nevertheless, the City of Wood Dale decided to waive the permit requirement in its rental agreement.
GWC has also found that Classic Party Rentals, which owned, erected, and rented the tent to Wood Dale, negligently disregarded key code requirements. Specifically, Wood Dale’s fire code required that a tent of that size must be able to safely withstand and remain stable under foreseeable wind and weather conditions with the use of proper bracing, strapping, and staking.
But according to the written list of materials delivered to the festival site, Classic Party Rentals failed to erect the tent in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions and did not deliver to the site or utilize the proper number of stakes or stake plates necessary to secure the tent.
Because of this deficiency, the tent had less anchorage than required, making its structure unstable under the windy weather conditions that took place on August 2, 2015.
A proper permit process would have discovered this deficiency, which could have been corrected before the collapse – a permit process that the City of Wood Dale chose to waive, with tragic results.
Getting Justice for Tent Collapse Victims
GWC’s case on behalf of the nine Wood Dale Plaintiffs remains ongoing. So far, the firm has taken over 25 depositions and retained multiple engineering expert witnesses in the prosecution of its case.
As you can see, personal injury litigation involving a tent collapse can be a daunting affair. It requires attorneys who can develop expertise across multiple disciplines in order to identify the core issues at stake if a victim ever hopes to obtain full and fair compensation – the kind of attorneys you’ll find at GWC Injury Lawyers LLC.
With more than $2.5 billion recovered in verdicts and settlements, GWC is one of the premier personal injury and workers’ compensation law firms in Illinois. Our highly skilled trial lawyers have the experience, determination, resources, and reputation necessary to get you and your family the justice you deserve.
If you have been the victim of a tent collapse, please call our office at (312) 999-9999 or click here to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with one of GWC’s dedicated trial lawyers today.
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