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A defendant that conducted a fireworks presentation on the Michigan State campus should not have been awarded summary disposition in a negligence suit brought by a student who suffered an eye injury, as a reasonable juror could conclude that a stray firework or shell may have struck him, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled in an unpublished decision.
The negligence suit was brought by the plaintiff against the defendant fireworks company. On Oct. 15, 2021, the plaintiff took part in the “Izzone Campout Event.” Defendant agreed to conduct a fireworks presentation at the campout as a personal favor to the MSU basketball coach.
After the defendant launched the fireworks, the plaintiff, positioned approximately 20 to 30 feet from the stage, was struck in his right eye by an unknown object, resulting in permanent central vision loss in that eye. The defendant moved for summary disposition. That motion was allowed.
“For the reasons set forth in this opinion, we reverse the trial court’s order and remand this matter for further proceedings,” the Court of Appeals wrote in a per curiam opinion.
“Viewed in the light most favorable to plaintiff, … plaintiff has established a genuine issue of material fact concerning whether a ‘dud firework,’ or debris related to fireworks exhibition, was the object that impacted him,” the Court of Appeals stated.
“In light of the foregoing, a reasonable juror could conclude that a stray firework or shell may have struck plaintiff, and the offered evidence established more than an accident took place. … In considering plaintiff’s statements, the medical evidence indicating the presence of a foreign object in his eye, the debris seen in the vicinity, and [Charles] Weeth’s expert testimony in the light most favorable to plaintiff, there is a plausible causal relationship between defendant’s fireworks exhibition and plaintiff’s injuries. Accordingly, the trial court improperly granted defendant’s motion for summary disposition on this basis,” the Court of Appeals concluded.
The six-page decision is Russell v. Black Diamond Fireworks, LLC; MiLW No. 08-110117.
