Photo: Rich Evers (Flickr)
The state will still offer the $6 million it is required by state law to pay out.
The Indiana Attorney General‘s Office says the state will begin paying out the $6 million in relief funds for victims of last year‘s stage rigging collapse at the Indiana State Fair.
The announcement comes after Mid-America Sound, the company that built the stage, rescinded its offer to pay a portion of the $7.2 million offered to victims by its executives and those from James Thomas Engineering. Mid-America officials say minimum participation requirements set forth by the state were not met by Wednesday‘s deadline.
Eligible claimants were offered the money in exchange for releasing Mid-America Sound and James Thomas Engineering from liability in the collapse. Earlier this year, Attorney General Greg Zoeller said 51 of 62 claimants had accepted the offer.
Zoeller released a statement Wednesday saying the state would still offer the $6 million it had set aside for those claimants as required by state statute. The state has already paid out $5 million in tort claim funds.
Zoeller says he is disappointed by Mid-America‘s decision, adding the state will facilitate discussions between victims and James Thomas Engineering.
