Bret Michaels Tony Awards Accident Lawsuit – Poison Star Suing CBS & Tony Award Organizers Over 2009 Mishap
Rocker-reality star Bret Michaels is suing over a injury he suffered during a performance at the Tony Awards nearly two years ago.
The Poison frontman — who cheated death at three times, following strokes and heart surgery, over the past year — wants CBS and the organizers of the Tonys to fork over fistfuls of dough over a 2009 mishap that resulted in him being hit in the head by a set piece. Michaels believes the accident was contributing factor to the brain hemorrhage that almost killed him in April 2010.
Brett and Poison performed at the Tony Awards in June 2009 and the singer suffered a split lip and broken nose when he was hit by a piece of scenery. In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court Friday, the rocker and reality-TV star claims Tony Award Productions and CBS failed to rectify the situation when a prop struck him in the head onstage during a June 2009 performance. According to Bret, show organiszrs never explained during rehearsals hat the set would be changing after the band performed, “Nothin’ But a Good Time.”
Six months later, the 48-year-old father of two was hospitalized in intensive care following a severe headache. That’s when doctors discovered the bleeding at the base of his brain stem. Bret spent several weeks in critical condition with a subarachnoid brain hemorrhage. (Of course, he went on to win gold on The Celebrity Apprentice despite the life-threatening ordeal, but that’s beside the point!)
“One of the most common causes of this type of hemorrhage is head trauma — exactly like the one Michaels suffered at the hands of the Tony Awards. Through his sheer will to live, to see his children grow up, [he] was able to survive this trauma,” the lawsuit stated.
Bret also believes show organizers could have saved him a mountain of humilation by editing the incident out of the broadcast, but chose not to. Footage of Michael’s being whacked over the head quickly became a viral hit on the internet and Bret’s lawsuit claims clips have been viewed more than 27 million times on YouTube.
