Insurance vs the Station Nightclub Fire

Without giving my age away entirely, I will admit…I’m a child of the 80s. I’ve been lucky enough to have seen several of my favorite 80s artists perform their greatest hits.  It never crossed my mind that something could go wrong during a concert and I might be in danger.

But on February 2, 2003, more than 400 people who also loved the 1980s attended a concert at the Station Nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island. But that night, something went wrong. A fire broke out at the concert, resulting in 100 deaths and 230 injuries.

When bad things like this happen—insurance should respond. That’s what it’s there to do. But what if the people responsible don’t have enough insurance to compensate those affected by the disaster? Well, then things get complicated.

This is a story about how small decisions can result in tragedy; how fire spreads faster than you imagine; and how the people who are responsible are sometimes not the people who are held accountable.

Selected Sources and Links:

·         Report of the Technical Investigation of The Station Nightclub Fire (NIST NCSTAR 2), Volume 1 | NIST

·         The Station nightclub fire - Wikipedia

·         Rhode Island Nightclub Owners Appealing $1M Fine in Fire Case (claimsjournal.com)

·         Rhode Island Nightclub Owners Dispute Workers’ Comp Finding (claimsjournal.com)

·         Judge Lagueux, who oversaw the Station nightclub fire case, dies at 91 (providencejournal.com)

·         A Story One Can Write Today - (adelmanlawgroup.com)

·         20 years after the Station nightclub fire, a look at what's changed | GBH (wgbh.org)

·         Settlement Details Offered in Rhode Island Club Fire Case (insurancejournal.com)

·         Inside The Inferno: The Station Nightclub Fire | Thought Catalog

·         Station nightclub fire: government defendants settle - Overlawyered

·         Insurers, Final Defendants Settle R.I. Nightclub Fire Lawsuits (claimsjournal.com)

·         Survivors of R.I. club fire await settlement cash (nbcnews.com)

·         GREAT WHITE Members Are 'Shocked And Saddened' By JACK RUSSELL's Trademark Lawsuit - BLABBERMOUTH.NET

·         Great White Lawsuit Lotto | National Review

·         Families Upset Over ‘Pokemon Go’ Stop at Rhode Island Nightclub Fire Site (claimsjournal.com)

·         Rhode Island Wants Nightclub Owners Held Personally Liable for Failure to Carry Workers’ Comp (insurancejournal.com)

·         Trial Date Set for R.I. Nightclub Owners Over Workers’ Comp Payments (insurancejournal.com)

·         R.I. Nightclub Owners Submit List of Assets After Filing for Bankruptcy (insurancejournal.com)

·         The negligent premises liability inspection: Potential liability for the insurer? (insurancejournal.com)

·         Report of the Technical Investigation of The Station Nightclub Fire (NIST NCSTAR 2), Volume 1 | NIST

·         Defending the Deep Pocket: California Proposition 51 Offset and Vicarious Liability | Tyson & Mendes (tysonmendes.com)

·         Litigation financing changing the deep-pocket advantage | Gallagher USA (ajg.com)

·         Vicarious Liability – The Deep Pocket (dresslerlaw.com)

·         Trucking Leads Growth in Nuclear Verdicts | Transport Topics (ttnews.com)

·         Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act - Wikipedia

·         Station Fire Memorial Foundation (thestationfirememorialfoundation.org)

 

Sources with Paywall:

·         Liability Policies Getting Lost in 'Deep Pockets'. Hazeltine, Rick.  San Diego Business Journal; San Diego Vol. 6, Iss. 33, Mar 17, 1986

·         How to raid deep pockets — the Chicago way. Choslovsky, William.  Chicago Tribune Tribune Publishing Company, LLC. Oct 27, 2017

·         Cappelletti, Marco, 'Deep Pockets', Justifying Strict Liability: A Comparative Analysis in Legal Reasoning. Oxford, 2022

·         Great White was carrying $1 million in insurance; five lawsuits filed. Fitzpatrick, Edward.  Knight Ridder Tribune News Service; Washington. 03 July 2003

·         Rhode Island Nightclub Lessors Sue for Insurance Coverage. Ebbert, Stephanie.  Knight Ridder Tribune Business News; Washington. 24 Apr 2003

·         Lessons learned from the station fire. Mark Mandell and Yvette Boisclair Aug. 2013 Trial(Vol. 49, Issue 8)Publisher: American Association for Justice

Books:

·         Killer Show: The Station Nightclub Fire, America’s Deadliest Rock Concert: Barylick, John: 9781611688535: Amazon.com: Books

·         Amazon.com: Trial by Fire: A Devastating Tragedy, 100 Lives Lost, and a 15-Year Search for Truth: 9781250131263: James, Scott: Books

Documentaries/Television:

·         48 Hours: Season 34, episode 5 “Thursday Night”

·         The Guest List (theguestlistfilm.com)

·         41 (2007 film) - Wikipedia

 

Music Credits:

Boulangerie by Jeremy Sherman, courtesy of NeoSounds: Boulangerie, LynneMusic | NeoSounds music library

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