Paul van Dyk: 'no compensation or apology' from A State Of Trance event company since near-fatal stage fall

Paul van Dyk claims he has received none of the court-ordered financial compensation from the ALDA event company following his near-fatal stage fall at A State Of Trance 2016.

In a post shared to social media on 29th February, van Dyk marked eight years since the accident, stating that he was “grateful to still be alive as I reflect on human decency, character & justice.”

The German trance DJ suffered life-threatening injuries — including a broken spine and traumatic brain injury — when, during his set at Armin van Buuren’s festival in Utrecht, which is managed by ALDA, he fell through an unmarked hole in the stage.

After severing ties with A State Of Trance, the DJ took legal action against ALDA, claiming that the company provided unsafe conditions for him to perform in, and that he was never told about part of the stage being unstable. Following a court hearing in September 2018, van Dyk was awarded over $12 million in damages, covering medical bills and any profits lost as a result of his injuries. Over five years later, van Dyk alleges that he has seen none of that compensation, or any acknowledgement of accountability from ALDA.

He wrote: “The legal responsibility is very clear; ALDA has been held accountable, but even after 8 years, they have never acknowledged any responsibility, not given a simple apology and have not paid any of the court-ordered compensation to cover the economic damages they caused, as ordered by the highest court in the Netherlands.”

The DJ went on to state that ALDA had “even tried to block the insurance to pay for my medical bills and that says everything about their character and decency.”

Van Dyk wrote that the experience taught him “a lot about survival and how to approach the everyday struggle caused by the severe injuries and the life-long impact on my health”, and expressed gratitude for the support of his fans and loved ones.

He concluded by saying that “nothing can give me back my health or make up for what my family and friends had to go through... Even though they continue to hide from their responsibility I know for certain that justice will succeed in the end.”

In a statement shared with DJ Mag, a representative for ALDA said: "We remember the 2016 incident very well and deeply regret the pain and difficult period Paul went through after his fall. However, this matter is in the hands of third parties (insurance companies/lawyers), therefore we are not able to make any further substantive statements about this."

Paul van Dyk returned to music in the years following his accident, appearing on the cover of DJ Mag North America in January 2018 and discussing his route to recovery.

In the past few years, van Dyk has released singles including ‘Voltage’, ‘Fragmentation’ and ‘Venture X’, the latter of which shares its name with his event series, which launched in 2022. Van Dyk was voted No. 45 in DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs poll in 2023, and released the 'ACID TRAXXX' EP with DJ Pierre in October.