Claim Center Stage By Robert Warne - September 24, 2003 On the road, rock stars are notorious for getting into trouble with the law. It comes with the territory. But busting up a hotel room isn’t as glamorous as it used to be, so rockers have had to seek new avenues to market themselves and generate media excitement.
Guys like Axel Rose of Guns and Roses and Tommy Lee of Motley Crue proved that assaulting somebody at a concert could get a rock star some considerable media mileage.
The formula worked fine for Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit, who got some airplay back 1999 for assaulting a security guard while promoting the band’s Chocolate Starfish and Hotdog Flavored Water album.
In fact yesterday, Durst even got a media enhancer when it was announced that he was being held liable for a work comp claim in connection with his assault incident.
The Associated Press announced Sept. 22 that the St. Paul, Minnesota-based security company that employed the guard Durst allegedly kicked in the head, wants close to $50,000 to cover the employee’s work comp claim.
The Azzone Security-Investigation Agency, names Durst, his production companies and his record labels as defendants in the suit.
According to police reports, Durst allegedly kicked Patrick Estes in the head onstage during the concert. Durst claimed that he had mistaken Estes for a fan he believed was attacking his personal security guard.
Assault charges were eventually dropped and Durst settled a civil claim with the guard for $100,000. But the security company didn’t see any of that and they are anxious to get what they’ve already paid out, and cover any future costs related to Estes’ work comp claim.
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