Man Hit by Asbury Park Stage Diver Settles for $2M: Reports

ASBURY PARK – A man who said he was injured by a stage diver at Asbury Park Convention Hall has settled the case for $2 million, according to reports.

The lawsuit, Kooken v. Asbury Audio Inc., alleged injuries caused by a stage diver at a 2017 Asbury Park Convention Hall that left Kooken, a retired police officer, without feeling in his arms and legs, according to The New Jersey Law Journal.

Kooken was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center where he underwent a spinal surgery, and was then transported to a rehabilitation facility near his home in New Hampshire for physical therapy and recovery, according to The New Jersey Law Journal.

“(The stage diver) walked right past security, climbed on the stage, pointed and then corkscrewed his body over the band’s lead singer, flipping directly onto Mr. Kooken’s head,” Kooken’s lawyers, the Clark Law Firm, were quoted as saying by nj.com.

The suit, filled in state Superior Court in Monmouth County in 2019, claimed Asbury Audio, Inc. was negligent in allowing stage diving to take place, according to nj.com.