Woman Sues Riot Fest After Crowd Surfer Allegedly Smashed Her Ankle

By Stephen Gossett in Arts & Entertainment on Jan 27, 2017 7:18PM



The Misfits / Photo: Tyler LaRiviere

A woman who attended Riot Fest last summer is suing the festival, claiming her ankle was fractured after a crowd surfer fell on her.

Nina Zurawel was watching post-emo stalwarts Brand New—who played on Saturday, Sept. 17, day two of the annual punk-rock revue, in Douglas Park—when a "large male fan" fell from his crowd surf and landed on the complainant, the lawsuit reportedly alleges.

The suit, filed on Wednesday in Cook County Circuit Court, claims that Zurawel tried to dart away from the scene when members of the crowed started shouting "Drop him," but she “was unable to extricate herself fast enough," the Sun-Times reports. Not cool, Brand new fans.

The defendants cited in the suit are reportedly Riot Fest, Riot Fest co-founder Michael Petryshyn, Safety Service Systems Inc. and festival/concert promoter React Presents Inc. As the Tribune mentions, React—which puts on primarily EDM affairs, like North Coast and Spring Awakening—is not affiliated with Riot Fest, and their involvement in the lawsuit is not entirely clear.

Zurawel reportedly seeks in excess of $50,000 in damages for her broken ankle, alleging that the festival and security were negligent in allowing crowd surfing and provided insufficient security.

A Riot Fest representative declined to comment since litigation is still pending.

This post has been updated.