University Student Dies At Allegedly Dangerous On-Campus Event

This case involves a university student who died in a physical altercation with another student at a university-sponsored event. The students involved were both intoxicated at the time of the event and were allegedly instigated into the altercation by other students. The plaintiff suffered a punch to the abdomen causing internal bleeding. The event staff never intervened to break up the altercation. The student was taken to the hospital several hours later after demonstrating rapid pulse, confusion, and memory loss. The student eventually succumbed to his injuries. Prior to this incident, there were allegedly many complaints from university students, faculty, and administrators regarding the danger that the event presented. It was alleged that insufficient security measures were put in place by the university for this large-scale event. An expert on university administration and security practices was sought to testify to the appropriate steps the university should have taken to curb the illegal and dangerous activities that occurred.

Question(s) For Expert Witness

1. Please describe your experience in event safety protocols.

2. What procedures could have been put in place to avoid the incident from occurring?

Expert Witness Response E-054160

I hold four academic degrees (a BS, MS, Ph.D., and MBA) in various areas relating to this field of crowd event management, safety, and production. I have helped produce 200+ rock concerts and other major events. I have worked directly with university administrators to orchestrate large-scale events on campuses. I've been involved in these types of cases and incidents, and I have even sadly predicted that some incidents would occur. My master's thesis received worldwide publicity following a tragic concert disaster that resulted in multiple deaths. I have been teaching crowd management and event safety for 40+ years and have had extensive industry experience in this area. I've published several monographs in this area and have already served as an expert in this area. It is difficult to comment on what procedures could have been put in place to avoid the incident from occurring without knowing the details such as how many people were present and the current university guidelines in place. The only obvious one here would be appropriate security, but "appropriate security" can vary greatly depending on situations.