'America's Got Talent' Hit With Wrongful Death Lawsuit

America's Got Talent is facing a wrongful death lawsuit.The NBC competition series is being sued [...]

America's Got Talent is facing a wrongful death lawsuit.

The NBC competition series is being sued for the wrongful death of a woman who was injured as she tried to maneuver a motorized wheelchair over cables for the show's taping.

According to TMZ, Maureen Allen was working as a volunteer at the Pasadena Convention Center in March 2017, at the same time as the series was in the center preparing for a taping.

In the lawsuit, Allen's estate says a large power cord protector was blocking the only disabled access ramp to the auditorium.

The estate claims Allen tried to roll over the protector, but her wheel got caught and her scooter flipped on its side, violently throwing her to the ground. The suit says she suffered severe injuries to her head, arms and hip.

Allen was hospitalized after the accident and suffered a stroke the next day, according to TMZ. She also had to have hip surgery and remained in declining health for several months. After eight surgeries, she was put on life support in June and died soon after.

Allen's estate blames her death on the initial fall, which it claims was caused by America's Got Talent's negligence. The suit also names FremantleMedia, NBCUniversal and the city of Pasadena.

The NBC competition series made headlines in late February after it was announced all four judges would return for the upcoming season of the series.

Howie Mandel, Simon Cowell, Mel B., Heidi Klum and presenter Tyra Banks will all return to the series, expected to premiere sometime in the summer of 2018.

The news comes after reports that producers were growing tired of Scary Spice and were planning to replace her ahead of the upcoming season.

Banks took over hosting duties after Nick Cannon quit in 2017.

The actor exited the NBC reality competition in February 2017, alleging he was "being threatened with extermination by executives." The controversy began when Cannon joked about his race during a Comedy Central special, saying,"I honestly believe once I started doing America's Got Talent, they took my 'real n—a' card."

He told Page Six that leaving the show on his own terms was an opportunity to "take charge and show I wasn't just a person for hire." Cannon previously served as host of AGT for eight seasons from 2009-2016.

America's Got Talent was created by Cowell and is co-produced by FremantleMedia North America and Syco Entertainment. Cowell, Sam Donnelly, Jason Raff, Trish Kinane and Richard Wallace are the executive producers.

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