Stephen Fry sues tech conference for up to £100,000 over fall injuries

Sir Stephen Fry has sued the organisers of a tech conference where he was injured when he fell off the stage after making a speech.

The broadcaster and author said he broke his leg, hip, pelvis and a "bunch of ribs" at the CogX convention at the O2 arena in London after giving the keynote address in September 2023.

Sir Stephen, 68, has now filed a personal injury claim against CogX Festival Ltd and creative agency Blonstein Events Ltd, seeking up to £100,000 damages.

"I did my bow after delivering this lecture, turned to go off stage and didn't realise that I was walking off the part of the stage where there was nothing - just a 6ft drop on to concrete," he told Claudia Winkleman's BBC Radio 2 show in December 2023.

"So I broke my right leg in a couple of places and my hip and pelvis in four places and a bunch of ribs."

Sir Stephen said at the time that he "praised my lucky stars" he did not injure his spine or skull in the fall.

Court documents filed on his behalf said: "The Claimant brings a claim for damages for personal injuries sustained on 14 September 2023 at the O2 Arena, London, whilst attending the CogX Festival where he had been engaged to deliver a talk on Artificial Intelligence.

"After concluding his presentation and whilst exiting the stage backstage area, the Claimant fell approximately two metres from the stage to the concrete floor below.

"The incident was caused by the negligence and/or breach of statutory duty of the Defendants, its servants or agents, in failing to ensure that the stage and backstage area were safe, adequately lit and properly protected to prevent a fall from height."

In response, a spokesperson for CogX Festival Ltd said: "We are unable to comment while the legal process is ongoing, but we were all deeply concerned when Stephen had the accident after giving his incredible speech on the Impact of AI, and we continue to send him our best wishes for a full recovery."

Blonstein Events Ltd, which worked on the event, is also listed as a defendant in the claim, but company director Sara Blonstein said they are yet to be formally notified of it.

Once a claim is filed at the High Court, a claimant has several weeks before they need to officially serve it on any defendants.

In a statement, Blonstein told BBC News: "No court proceedings have been served by Sir Stephen Fry, nor those representing him.

"If court proceedings are served both we and are insurers are confident that our defence will be successful as we were in no way responsible for this incident."

Lawyer Keith Barrett of Fieldfisher, who is representing Sir Stephen, said: "It's very unfortunate that court proceedings were necessary, but the Defendants do not accept Sir Stephen's account of events, and we have had to ask the court to determine who is responsible for his injury and losses."