The New Zealand woman who was kicked by Miguel during a Billboard Music Awards performance continues to suffer cognitive difficulties and has yet to receive any assistance from the R&B singer nearly a month after the incident, her attorney said.
Doctors continue to evaluate Khyati Shah’s injuries, who is studying at UCLA has memory loss issues and has been unable to sit for final exams, attorney Vip Bhola said.
He said despite efforts to find out more about rehearsals for Miguel’s performance and seek help for his client, representatives for the singer and the awards show are practically daring him to sue.
Miguel’s representatives have said Miguel is concerned for Shah’s well-being and reached out to Bhola to see if they could help.
Bhola said while he’s talked with Miguel’s attorney, no assistance for his client’s medical bills or other expenses have been offered.
The lawyer said Shah, 21, went to the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas on May 19 and was excited at the prospect of seeing Miguel. The singer-songwriter leaped from one stage to another while singing his hit Adorn, catching his leg on the back of Shah’s head and slamming it into the platform.
Shah later appeared alongside Miguel in a televised interview holding an ice bag on her elbow, a move that Bhola said was offensive.
“They didn’t rush her to the hospital,” Bhola said. “Instead they rushed a camera to her and an ice pack” and took advantage of a “star-struck, dazed and injured person.”
Producers of the Billboard Music Awards declined comment.
“Khyati’s well-being has been and continues to be of the utmost concern to Miguel,” the singer’s spokeswoman wrote in a statement released earlier this month.
“She was a fan of Miguel and she’s dumbfounded at how she’s been treated,” Bhola said.
“She had hoped they would truly care about her rather than merely caring about themselves and some imaginary lawsuit they are defending against,” he said.
Shah is studying for dual-degrees in politics and philosophy at UCLA. Bhola said she had planned to return to New Zealand for the summer, but her travel will likely be delayed while she continues to undergo treatment and testing for her memory and language issues. He said she has trouble finding words and also has difficulty typing text messages without them turning out garbled.
Despite the issues, Bhola said a lawsuit is not guaranteed.
“The doctors really are in the driver’s seat in this situation, not the lawyers,” he said. “Once we have that information, we’ll be able to make legal evaluations.”
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– AP
