CHICAGO (NewsNation Now) — In the age of COVID-19, it’s tough to rock and roll all night — safely — and the Kiss concert tour has found that out the hard way.
Fran Stueber, who for more than 20 years has been the guitar technician for Kiss’ Paul Stanley, died of coronavirus on Oct. 17.
Now, there’s a war brewing involving the roadies and the band as to who is to blame for Stueber’s death. The roadies claim COVID-19 protocols on tour were lacking and that those who got the virus were dumped in hotels and left there.
Steuber died in a Detroit hotel room two days after quarantining.
Gene Simmons and Paul Stanely had previously tested positive for COVID-19.
Paul Stanley tweeted his love and respect for Stueber, but the band is singing a different tune. Some roadies are accusing the band members of not following the rules.
However, as Domenic Romano, managing partner of Romano Law, pointed out, only a handful of crew members are coming out with accusations.
“You have 70 crew members, not all of them are speaking out, as I understand it. On the reports that I’ve seen, there are only like four or five that are speaking, out of 70 crew members. They were all, as I understand it, required to get vaccinated, they have to show vaccination cards, they were required to be masked.”
Based on these facts, Romano believes trying to file a negligence lawsuit would be difficult.
“(Crewmembers) were required to quarantine if they showed symptoms. … There was testing. If anyone showed symptoms, they were tested,” said Romano. “So I think if someone is going to try a negligence suit here, they’re going to have a causation challenge.”