Trophy Eyes are being sued by a fan who was partially paralyzed by a stage diving incident during one of their shows.
Earlier this year, a 24-year-old fan of the Australian punk band was left partially paralyzed after frontman John Floreani dove on her during a concert in New York. During a concert at Mohawk Place in Buffalo on April 30, he jumped into the crowd and left fan Bird Piché with serious injuries that required emergency surgery.
Footage of the event later circulated on social media, apparently showing the precise moment Floreani leapt into the crowd and seemingly landed directly on Piché. In May, Buffalo Television WKBW (via New York Post) reported suffering a “catastrophic spinal cord injury.”
The group later released a statement saying they were “truly heartbroken” and shared a GoFundMe campaign link to raise money for Piché. “She has a long recovery ahead of her and will need all the help she can get,” reads the campaign description.
Trophy Eyes’ original statement said the incident had “shaken us all to our core”, adding: “Please keep Bird in your thoughts. We remain in close contact with them and will expand on this topic as more news arrives.
In a statement shared with WKBWa general manager at Mohawk Place said crowdsurfing was prohibited and signs were posted “everywhere.”
Piché has now filed a lawsuit against Trophy Eyes, Floreani, Mohawk Place and promoter After Dark Entertainment, LLC. As reported by WGRZ (via Stereogum), the suit claims the defendants negligently caused her injuries because they failed to protect her from “unsafe and/or dangerous conditions.”
Shortly after Piché’s injury, she and her family said BNC that she regained use of her arms and legs, but not her fingers or toes, and that there was no update on her recovery afterward. The lawsuit seeks “an amount of money that exceeds the jurisdictional limits of all lower courts and costs and expenses of this action.”
As previously reported StereogumTrophy Eyes has a history of stage diving incidents. After a show in Atlanta in 2023, a fan criticized them for “encouraging mosh pits and crowd surfing,” to which the band responded in the comments: “fuck you.”
