In such cases that involve numerous victims, the nightclub or the band usually does not carry enough liability insurance to pay for lawsuits from victims' families, said Susan Karten.

Ms. Karten was one of five attorneys appointed by the court to handle litigation for the 1990 Happy Land Social Club fire that killed 87 patrons in New York City's Bronx borough.

"Lawyers start with the owners of the premises. They have liability coverage, but it's not that much money--usually a few million dollars at best. I can tell you right now that there won't be enough coverage for the clubs in Rhode Island and Chicago.

"And I don't know what kind of policies the band would have, but it won't have enough coverage," Ms. Karten said. "There would be some funds, but not enough for families for these losses. Creative lawyers will have to go after other deep pockets."

Sometimes these clubs have minimum insurance, or don't have any insurance at all, because they are oftentimes not prime properties. "Some of these clubs are not even legal--basically they shouldn't be operating," she said.

In the Happy Land case, victims and their families also sued manufacturers of different products in the club, because many people died not from fire but from smoke inhalation, and products that were used in the club--such as chairs and materials on curtains--were not fire retardant. "These materials could fuel the fire very quickly and dangerously," Ms. Karten noted.

In addition to product manufacturers, municipalities could also become a target in lawsuits involving last week's nightclub deaths, Ms. Karten said. She noted cities sometimes don't inspect nightclubs as often or as thoroughly as they should, and there may have been violations on club premises that haven't been attended to.

According to Ms. Karten, victims and their families of the 1990 New York club fire received $16 million from civil lawsuits--$10 million of which came from eight manufacturers of products used at the club, including chairs, fire extinguishers, fire alarms and curtains; and $6 million from the subleasee of the club--which amounts to around $180,000 per victim.

Robert Hartwig, senior vice president and chief economist at the Insurance Information Institute in New York, predicted that last week's tragedies will lead to more stringent underwriting of nightclubs and similar facilities.

The insurers and brokers for this market segment usually put nightclub policies under the broader heading "restaurants/taverns/liquor liability" coverage, and when insurers decide whether to provide coverage, they first look at what the structure's capacity is and what it would be used for, he said.

"And of course, they are concerned with fire-related safety: is there an adequate number of exits, are there fire extinguishers, and what is its proximity to a firehouse?" said Mr. Hartwig.

Insurers also check materials used in the construction and the age of the building. "All of these things contribute to essentially a fire rating for the building," he said.

Mr. Hartwig also noted that the issue of pushing and trampling has been a concern for awhile for insurers because they happen in sports stadiums and rock concerts.

"So insurers have been aware that this is an issue. Typically, the solution is better crowd control. Had more exits been known and available in the club in Chicago, there would have been far fewer deaths. But anything like what happened was beyond the comprehension of any insurance companies involved," said Mr. Hartwig.

In the Rhode Island nightclub's case, what happened was that most people were unaware of some of the exits, so everyone headed for the back door. "So this created a stampede of death and people were overcome by smoke.

"There is an investigation going on now, trying to determine why the building burned down so quickly. Some acoustic materials seem to have been very flammable. And the club might have been violating safety codes," Mr. Hartwig observed.

"Events like these are very rare. They will directly lead to more stringent underwriting of bars, taverns, small concert halls, nightclubs and other similar facilities," he predicted.

Commenting on the potential liability for nightclub deaths, one significant factor that could drive up jury awards in the Rhode Island case involves victims' demographics, Mr. Hartwig added.

The band Great White, which was popular in the 1980s, attracted many people in their 30s and 40s, who were married and in their peak earnings years, he said. The factor "would drive up the average settlement in cases of wrongful deaths or negligence lawsuits," he noted.