Coachella is a California cultural phenomenon that attracts visitors to Indio, California from all over the nation—and the world. At Coachella, the best of California’s music, art, and celebrity cultures converge in an annual festival event spanning two consecutive weekends each April. Coachella takes place at the Empire Polo Club on a lush, 1,000-acre property that’s filled with gardens and green polo fields year-round, but during Coachella, it becomes a haven of music, art, fashion, and even Woodstock-style car and tent camping. But with tailgating traffic, masses of people, free-flowing alcohol, and hastily constructed structures, this is also an event where accidents, injuries, and acts of violence sometimes spoil the fun. The Encino personal injury lawyers share the necessary steps to take if you sustain injuries while attending Coachella.
Since 1999, the Coachella Music Festival has been the site of great music, great food, and great fun. Unfortunately, it’s also the site of some serious injuries and even tragic deaths. Each year Coachella sees injuries and illnesses such as the following:
Unfortunately, injuries sometimes occur at Coachella. Many attendees look forward to Coachella all year. An unexpected injury ruins a well-planned weekend of music, celebrity sightings, and good food in the outdoors. If the injury occurred due to someone else’s careless or reckless actions, you have legal recourse to recover compensation for your injury-related expenses.
Dehydration and heat exhaustion are the most common injuries suffered at Coachella and other music festivals, followed by fractures, soft-tissue injuries like sprains and torn ligaments, overdoses, and injuries from violent assaults.
While enjoying Coachella, be sure to drink plenty of water, eat small but regular meals, and limit your use of alcohol and other substances. Use a buddy system whenever you go for food, to use the restrooms, or to browse the art displays and vendor sites. Never go anywhere alone. Stay alert to the presence of security kiosks and med-tents as you move around different portions of the festival.
First, if you are ill or injured at Coachella, seek out the nearest med-tent. These first-aid stations have fully trained professionals ready to help. Some festival-goers fear they will be forced to leave the festival if they seek help for an illness or injury, but this isn’t true unless you’re in a life-threatening medical crisis.
If your injury is the direct result of someone else’s negligent actions, you should document important evidence at the scene. Use your phone to take photos of anything relevant to your injury, like a damaged vehicle, or the cause of a bad fall. Take photos of any visible injury at the scene. Add the contact information of anyone involved or eyewitnesses to what happened. Ask for an incident or accident report from security and/or from the med-tent. Report any act of violence to the police. If you go to the hospital, ask for a detailed medical report.
Common liable parties in personal injury cases stemming from Coachella include vendors, negligent event security, and negligent drivers.
If someone else’s actions or negligent inaction caused the injury, you can recover compensation for damages like medical expenses, lost income, and pain and suffering. If you experienced an injury at Coachella, contact a personal injury lawyer in Encino.