A former Michigan State University student who says he was significantly injured by firework debris at a university event will be paid $25,000 by his alma mater.
Adam Russell, who graduated in 2022 and now works as a legislative aid to Michigan House representative Denise Mentzer, says he was attending an Izzone Campout in October 2021 when a fireworks show left him partially blinded.
Several other students also received minor burns and blisters by the falling debris.
He filed a lawsuit against MSU’s Board of Trustees in April 2022, claiming event organizers “deliberately funneled (him) into a position where it was almost certain he would be struck by firework debris.”
An errant firework debris struck Russell’s face, resulting in a loss of more than 90% of the vision in his right eye, “which is expected to become a total loss of vision, to be permanent, and to have an adverse effect upon his left eye,” according to the lawsuit.
The incident also resulted in scarring, disfigurement, pain, embarrassment and significant medical expenses, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges MSU “knew of the substantial risks that the firework display posed to the students,” yet “persisted with its hastily-made plans and made the appearance of the display being safe.” It argues Russell’s bodily integrity was violated by MSU’s alleged negligence.
Russell declined to comment, citing ongoing lawsuits with the fireworks manufacturers.
Giroux Pappas Trial Attorneys, the law firm that represented Russell, did not respond to requests for comment. MSU Spokesperson Mark Bullion declined to comment.
In court filings, MSU’s legal counsel argued that steps to ensure student safety had been adequately followed to set up the firework display.
MSU argued that Russell did not have evidence to support the complaint’s claim that the university had acted “deliberately indifferent” towards the safety of students at the event, and the case should be dismissed.
The Michigan Court of Claims rejected the request for dismissal.
The university also included a signed affidavit from MSUPD Fire Marshal Thomas Miller, responsible for supervising the safety of the firework display.
Miller testified students were situated approximately 200 feet away from the launch site, which was more than the 150 foot safety zone requested by the fireworks manufacturers and the 70 foot zone recommended by the National Fire Protection Association for fireworks of a higher caliber.
Miller wrote that he had met with event coordinators and fireworks vendors two days before the campout and was present the day of the event. He said the display had gotten the necessary permits and approvals from university officials.
“All safety protocols and parameters were followed during the event,” Miller wrote.
Russell’s attorneys responded in January 2023 with new evidence they claimed poked holes in the affidavits and proved MSU had rushed to set up the firework display, ignoring safety hazards.
Procedures for approval of the display were “done over an accelerated timeline as the request for the fireworks portion of the event was only filed” the day before the event, an MSUPD report included by Russell's attorneys found.
On the day of the event, there was heavy rain, which prompted “some debate on whether they would have the show,” according to the police report. But, “Athletic Marketing requested the show go on.”
Emails between Miller and other campus police officers, obtained by Russell’s attorneys through a public records request, appear to show the fire marshal reluctant to move forward with the display.
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“Where are you thinking of these being launched? Space around (the campout) is pretty limited and is the reason why we have moved away from any fireworks in that area,” Miller wrote to a colleague a week before the show.
In later emails, Miller said the firework vendors donated the show to the university after “some backdoor contacting” by basketball coach Tom Izzo.
“Good thing for us is that there is a 98% of rain for Friday starting at 10am all the way into Saturday,” Miller wrote the morning before the event.
Russell’s attorneys interpreted the exchange as proof Miller was uncomfortable with the prospect of having a firework display in the area, but moved forward with the event at MSU officials’ urging.
“Despite this knowledge of danger an already inherently dangerous activity posed, Defendant disregarded the risks, instead hastily moving forward with a dangerous spectacle hoping to draw attention to the men’s basketball program and caving to the pressure of Tom Izzo and the athletic department,” Russell’s attorneys wrote. “The athletic department requested the ‘show go on’, even in the face of imminent danger to unknowing students at the ‘show.’”
In response, MSU argued that even if the display had been set up quickly and Miller showed signs of hesitation, the university still took “reasonable steps to ensure the safety of the spectators to the fireworks display.”
“If Miller stated space was ‘pretty limited’ and ‘[g]ood thing for us is that there is a 98% rain for Friday,’ that does not mean he was not ‘very comfortable’ with the safety zone established for the event as he attested in his affidavit,” attorneys wrote.
The parties dismissed and settled the lawsuit in May 2024, with MSU agreeing to give Russell the $25,000 he had initially sued for.
