INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - A deal giving more money to victims of a deadly Indiana stage collapse is designed to shield the state from litigation by the company that owned the stage.
Lawmakers voted this year to give $6 million to the families of the seven people killed and those injured when high winds toppled stage rigging onto fans awaiting an August 13, 2011, show by the country duo Sugarland.
Attorney General Greg Zoeller announced in June that victims could share another $7.2 million offered by the stage owner and manufacturer if they agreed not to sue the companies.
The state could have been on the hook for more money if stage owner Mid-America lost lawsuits against it. Mid-America said the Indiana State Fair took responsibility for the stage when it leased it.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
