First Lawsuit Filed Against MGM Over Las Vegas Mass Shooting

The first of likely many lawsuits has been filed by a concertgoer who suffered a number of injuries in the Las Vegas mass shooting on Oct. 1 that claimed the lives of 58 and injured almost 500.

Paige Gasper, a 21-year-old college student at Sonoma State University, was hit by a bullet and also trampled in the chaos that ensued when attendees at the Route 91 Harvest festival attempted to flee the barrage of bullets fired by Stephen Paddock from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. Shattered ribs and a lacerated liver were among the injuries sustained by Gasper, who underwent several surgeries after good Samaritans helped her from the scene and drove her to the hospital.

MGM Resorts International, which owns and operates Mandalay Bay, topped the list of defendants named in the complaint filed in Clark County District Court in Nevada. Mandalay Corp., Live Nation Entertainment Inc., the estate of Stephen Paddock, and Slide Fire Solutions are co-defendants in the case, the latter as the maker of bump stocks that enable semi-automatic weapons to be transformed into fully automatic.

Paddock, 64, a reputed high stakes gambler with a penchant for video poker, who took his own life after the massacre, used bump stocks to carry out his evil and deadly plan, according to investigators.

MGM Negligence An Issue

Those investigators found 19 guns in Paddock's hotel suite, an absurd amount of weaponry that Gasper's attorneys will no doubt point to when presenting their case before a judge. News reports indicate that Paddock was able to use a service elevator - a perk reserved only for high rollers - to move the arsenal up to his hotel room.

Michelle Tuegel, one of the lawyers representing Gasper, told the Las Vegas Review Journal that the defendants "have a responsibility to keep the people who are on their properties at at their events safe.” The lawsuit failed to mention an amount with regard to the damages suffered by the plaintiff.

A spokesperson for MGM, Debra DeShong, released a statement a day after the lawsuit was filed, calling Paddock's actions "a meticulously planned, evil, senseless act."

Citing the need for MGM and the entire city of Las Vegas to continue going through the healing process, DeShong added that:

"Our primary focus and concern is taking actions to support the victims and their families, our guests and employees, and cooperating with law enforcement.”

A GoFundMe page established for Gasper has already raised its goal of $4,500. She is a psychology major who is due to graduate next year.