By: Amanda Anderson-Niles
Miguel’s leg dropping incident at the Billboard Music Awards is still looming over his shoulders considering the R&B singer is still waiting to see if the victim, Khyati Shah, plans on filing a lawsuit against him. As we recently reported, the lawsuit will be filed if test results prove she suffered from brain damage. In the meantime, Miguel’s camp recently shut down the reports suggesting he made the jump during the performance against the warnings of the producers.
Now it appears Khyati’s lawyer has a lot more to say and he tells Y! Music Canada that Miguel’s team hasn’t been as helpful as they say they’ve been and it’s pushing them to file a lawsuit. When asked flat-out if a lawsuit would come into fruition, the lawyer, Vip Bhola, says:
“That really depends on, shall we say, “Team Miguel,” and to use that term I’m encompassing Miguel, his attorneys, the production company and all of them. They’re the ones who are going to determine if this is going to have to become a lawsuit or not. Khyati’s desire would be to resolve this without any incident or without any formal proceedings. But I’m not getting that type of reciprocity from the other side.
“For example, there have been reports in the media that Miguel was told by the production company during rehearsals that he couldn’t do that jump and that he did it anyways. He was told it was something that would be a danger to people and he decided to do it notwithstanding that. I tried to confirm that with the production company and with their attorneys, and they’re refusing to either confirm it or deny it, or give me any information. That’s something that would be important in making that type of determination. But I’m not getting that sort of cooperation.
‘And when they take that sort of a posture of stonewalling somebody who’s seeking information, it tends to force things towards a lawsuit. They’re taking a position that, “We’re not going to say anything unless we’re in the context of a lawsuit,” and it forces that issue. And Khyati and I are trying to avoid that.”
When asked the last time they talked to Miguel’s camp, he says:
“It would have been within the past couple of business days, around last Friday. I spoke with the attorneys from the production company and I sought to confirm or deny the reports that I had seen in the media. They refused to do it. Neither the attorneys nor the production company would confirm or deny. With regards to Miguel’s attorney, I’ve read reports in the media that they’ve offered assistance to myself and to Khyati. They’ve never offered any assistance like that.”
And when asked about Khyati Shah being taken backstage after the incident, he says:
“That was absolutely not her idea. In fact, I think it was offensive, the way that they handled that. Instead of rushing her to the hospital, they put her in front of a camera with a microphone. She was starstruck and put on the spot and still in shock from her head injury — and then Miguel’s there saying, “Thank goodness my new friend is okay.”
“It was offensive and it was something that they did, in my opinion, merely to try to make themselves look good…and perhaps bolster themselves in anticipation of a lawsuit, rather than looking out for Khyati’s best interests and getting her medical attention right away.”
As far as those test results go, Khyati’s attorney says they are still waiting on the findings.
I think Miguel going to have to take an L on this and just pay this woman a reasonable amount of money nothing outrageous. These people are not going to let up he made a mistake he just needs to cut his loses.
Wow. They are still talking. Miguel needs to go ahead and handle this. I’m sure his label is handling this in a douchey way though.
Just pay up already Miguel. It is the right thing to do. She should not be paying her own medical bills anyway.
The label probably wants the girl to just file a suit. They rather make them fight for the money in court than just hand it away. It’s sad because it makes Miguel look like an uncaring a-shole.
This!!!! It’s just not a good look for Miguel at all.
How long is supposed to take to get those results? Sheesh.
Yeah…they just need to go ahead and file the suit. Especially if the label isn’t cooperating.
Cut the check Miguel!!!!
Cut the check for what ? Okay.. The girl was kicked in the head. Understandable. Accidents happen. It wasn’t Miguel’s idea to bring her backstage either (he stated this in a previous interview) and the girl should have said “No. I am not going in front of a camera. My head hurts,”etc. Instead, she was “star struck” … Seriously ? As a lawyer, he should not have even said that. People are always out to seek money, and it’s ridiculous. Handle things appropriately at that very moment for it to seem more reasonable for you to get money. I bet after she spoke with some people, she went to the hospital and is probably now wearing a neck brace.