Temecula resident Chelsea Romo's life was forever changed on Oct. 1, 2017, when a gunman opened fire from a room at Mandalay Bay resort on the Las Vegas strip, killing 58 people and wounding more than 400.
Romo, one of thousands attending a country music festival at the MGM Resorts-owned property, lost an eye and sustained severe head trauma from shrapnel that hit her in the face.
"My whole cheek, my eyebrow, all of this is all metal — all plates all screws," said Romo pointing to her face. "I still have shrapnel all through my forehead and throughout my brain."
RELATED: Legal Settlement Over Las Vegas Shooting Worth Up To $800M
Now MGM Resorts is agreeing to pay up to $800-million to victims.
San Diego attorney James Frantz, who is representing Romo and nearly 200 others, said the company failed to secure the concert venue before the shooting.
"Virtually open to anyone who wants to walk in and one gentleman did with 17 weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition," Frantz said.
But he gives the company credit for agreeing to the settlement.
"MGM has stepped up and done the right thing so the victims can put this behind them once and for all," Frantz said.
Yet, he says if he and other attorneys did not get involved a settlement would have never come.
"I don’t think they would have done anything if we hadn't done anything," he said. "Why would they?"
Romo said she’ll never be able to forget what happened to her.
"Every morning I have to get up and put my lens in and every night I have to take it out, I have to click my heel behind every step I go down so I know when the next one is, I’m never allowed to drive in the dark again."
MGM said the settlement is not an admission of liability. The company expects the case to be fully resolved by the end of next year.
