Vegas Shooting Lawsuit


Paige Gasper, a 21 year old California college student, was among those who were injured in the Las Vegas mass shooting. She is filing the first lawsuit againt MGM Resorts which owns the hotel and casino where the gunman fatally shot 58 people and injured over 500 others at a music festival on October 1st.

Gasper was struck by a bullet that entered her right underarm and traveled through her breast tissue, shattered her ribs, and lacerated her liver before exiting her body. While being helped by her friends to escape, she was trampled by the crowd fleeing the concert. She was eventually rescued when someone helped her take cover behind a dumpster and then took her to the hospital in his truck.

The lawsuit, filed in a Nevada district court, accuses MGM Resorts of negligence by failing to maintain the hotel's premises in a "reasonably safe condition." The other defendants names in the lawsuit include Live Nation Entertainment(the company that hosted the music festival), the estate of the shooter, and Slide Fire(which manufactured the bump stock device that allows semiautomatic weapons to fire at a rate close to an automatic weapon).

The shooter Stephen Paddock managed to smuggle in 23 guns, including AR-15 and AR-47 assault rifles into his room.

The lawsuit accuses the hotel of failing to respond in a timely manner to Paddock's shooting of a hotel security guard who was shot six minutes before he targeted the 22,000 concertgoers below.

Gasper's attorneys say that the chain of command at the hotel must have been broken for six minutes because nothing happened and MGM Resorts should have known their failure to keep their premises reasonably safe whould result in injury to others. They also mentioned that their focus isn't on gun control, but how Paddock was able to smuggle multiple weapons into the room without raising red flags with the hotel staff.

MGM made an announcement that they would donate $3 million to aid victims to aid victims of the shooting and first responder organizations.

Comments From Allen:

This will not be an easy lawsuit to pursue, by any means.

The premises of the hotel are to be kept in "reasonably safe condition." Reasonably safe for whom?

I am involved frequently with premises liability issues. They all involve whether the premises are safe for patrons or visitors. In one case, hallway lighting failed, and a person fell and suffered severe injuries because he could not see the floor. In another, the light outside the front door was not turned on at night, and a patron left a restaurant in the dark, and could not see a person outside the front door waiting for him with a baseball bat. In another, the floor of a hotel was washed and there were no "wet floor" signs warning unsuspecting guests of the hazard. These are typical premises liability issues.

Trying to maintain that "reasonably safe condition" applies to people a quarter mile away who might happen to be shot by one of your guests? Believe me, that is a stretch. This lawsuit will be subject to a massive paperwork fight every step of the way by MGM defense attorneys in order to prevent it from ever reaching the trial stage.

Additionally, anyone who knows guns and rifles knows that you can bring at least 6-7 rifles at a time in luggage easily without drawing attention to yourself. How is any place of business able to prevent that? Absent mandating that every public building should have a metal detector at the front and back door, there is no way to know who is or who is not packing.

Only if a court allows that "reasonably safe condition" applies to making your premises reasonably safe for concertgoers a quarter of a mile away from your premises, however, does any analysis of whether there is liability begin.

Further, take note that "reasonable safe condition" (which is the nationwide standard) does not mean "absolutely safe condition." The MGM is not a guarantor that nothing bad will happen on its premises. It only needs to take reasonable measures to prevent people from being harmed on its premises. Even if a court should allow that the MGM must take reasonable measures to prevent people off-premises from being harmed by people staying at its hotel, it is not an absolute guarantor of the safety of others. It is not a guarantor that people off-premises will not be harmed by some crazy person with a gun.

My guess is that the plaintiffs in this suit will focus on the timeline of events the night of the shooting, and claim that the MGM should have intervened sooner.

Even assuming the other barriers to this suit are overcome, I am not optomistic that the plaintiff will prevail. This was a never-before-in-history occurrence. Neither the police nor hotel security knew where the bullets originated.

As to the suit against SlideFire, this also should be dismissed immediately, as in general a manufacturer should not be held responsible for a legal sale of a federally-regulated product.

The only good news for plaintiffs is that the shooter was a multi-millionaire. There may be some assets to be distributed to victims in this case.


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Allen Browning is an attorney in Idaho Falls, Idaho who handles personal injury and criminal defense. He has over 30 years of experience and handled thousands of cases. Allen handles cases from all over Idaho. Call (208) 542-2700 to set up a free consultation if you are facing legal trouble or you have been involved in an accident.

Also, check out browninglaw.net for more information about Allen and Browning Law.

Allen Browning can help with all personal injury claims including motor vehicle accidents,truck accidents, auto accidents, serious and disabling accidents, and wrongful death claims.

Allen Browning is an Idaho Falls attorney who can also help with drunk driving (DUI), traffic violations, Felony, Misdemeanor, Domestic Violence, Drug Crimes, Theft, Juvenile Crimes, battery and assault charges, Violent Crimes, and Probation/Parole Violations. He is one of the most experienced and successful criminal defense attorneys in Idaho.
Allen is able to provide his services if the incident occurs in the following Idaho Areas: American Falls, Arco, Blackfoot, Boise, Burley, Driggs, Idaho Falls, Malad City, Pocatello, Rexburg, Rigby, Salmon, St. Anthony, Twin Falls, Bannock County, Bingham County, Bonneville County, Butte County, Cassia County, Clark County, Fremont County, Jefferson County, Lemhi County, Madison County, Oneida County, Power County, Teton County, and Twin Falls County.    
Sources for more information:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/tasneemnashrulla/las-vegas-shooting-lawsuit?bffbnews&utm_term=.nkwQeQjyG#.vu08v8Zd7

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