Unfortunately, it's the promoters, not the bands or the venues, who are held liable for injuries at concerts and are therefore the prime targets for lawsuits. It's the bands that have to discourage it.'Ī number of bands have also spoken out during their performances to discourage moshing. But it's hard to go in and fight kids to make 'em not do it. 'We discourage it, more and more acts are discouraging it, and more and more acts are asking for reserved seats because of the injuries involved. 'It's a major problem,' says Dave Williams, co-president of Cellar Door Productions, the nation's biggest concert promoter. Few in the industry have found workable solutions that address both the desires of young rock fans who want to mosh and concert promoters who don't want to pay higher insurance premiums or settle lawsuits arising from moshing injuries suffered at their events. 'Moshing' is the term embracing the energetic and occasionally violent dancing that takes place at rock concerts, usually right in front of the stage. The litigation is rolling in, so the industry is taking a new look at it.' But the concert industry has not set up any guidelines on what is or isn't acceptable behavior, and now it's faced with trying to get things back in line. 'When moshing started in the late '80s they called it dancing,' and by the early '90s it was evident there were dangers brewing. 'Moshing has been allowed to grow out of control,' says Paul Wertheimer, whose Chicago-based Crowd Management Strategies consulting firm prepares the survey. And perhaps too dangerous: According to the annual Rock Concert Safety Survey, there were three deaths and more than 1,800 moshing-related injuries in 1994, with 1,000 injuries at Woodstock '94 alone. In fact, it's all getting to be a bit too mosh. 'And believe me, that's not rhythmic moshing music.' 'Kids were moshing to that,' says Lollapalooza on-site producer Stuart Ross, a few days before tomorrow's Lollapalooza stop at Charles Town Raceway in West Virginia. When planning emergency medical care for such concerts with mosh pits, the potential for an increase in the number of medical incidents and injuries requiring medical attention and hospital transport should be taken into account for efficient medical coverage.At each stop on last year's Lollapalooza tour, the show opened with a troupe of Tibetan monks chanting traditional prayers.

Hospital transport was required for 2.5% (39 patients, 2.1 per 10,000) of medical visits with 74% (29 patients, 1.5 per 10,000) of those transported being for mosh pit-related injuries. There were 37% (466 patients, 25.1 per 10,000) of incidents related to moshing activity. A total of 1,542 medical incidents (82.9 per 10,000) were reported over the 4 event days. Each event day had over 60,000 attendees. Injuries seen at emergency medical stations at 3 concerts, all with large mosh pits, over 4 event days were recorded and evaluated. At large concerts where audience members participate in 'moshing,' crowd surfing, and stage diving, there may be a potential for a dramatic increase in injuries requiring medical attention. Effective planning is essential for medical personnel preparing to provide emergency care at mass gatherings.

Mosh pit injuries