Who’s Responsible for the Astroworld Tragedy?
On November 5th, nine people died at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Music Festival in Houston when an unruly crowd surge trampled a number of concertgoers and left others struggling to breathe or emotionally devastated from the carnage.
Some of the 50,000 audience members described the incident as a “death trap.” There were several hundredconcertgoers treated for injuries at a field hospital at NRG Park in Houston or at local hospitals.
Since the event, the death toll has risen to nine as a 22-year-old college student died on November 10th. Officials say that the ages of those who died range from 14 to 27. In addition, a nine-year-old boy who was seriously injured is in a medically-induced coma.
Safety Questions Raised
Whether there were adequate safety measures at the festival has been asked by many. Several lawsuits have been filed against Scott, the festival promoter, and others involved by the families of those who died and by others who were seriously injured.
Houston first responders were notified of crowd injuries at about 9:30 PM; however, the concert continued for another 40 minutes. When asked why the show wasn’t stopped, officials said that they didn’t have the authority to do so.
The “ultimate authority to end a show (was) with production and the entertainer, and that should be through communication with public safety officials,” Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said. “We don’t hold the plug.”
Chief Finner said the investigation found that the police told the production team that first responders were administering CPR on at least one person and to stop the show. But the show went on for nearly an hour.
The concert’s lengthy operations plan revealed a clear chain of command in case of an incident. The plan identifies the role of the executive producer as well as the festival director as the only individuals with the authority to halt the concert.
But firefighters who were outside the concert venue weren’t in radio communications with the emergency medical providers hired by the concert organizers when the situation happened, adding more questions about safety procedures.
Lawsuits Initiated
Families of the dead and those seriously injured claim that Astroworld concert organizers knew the crowd would be unruly and that Scott would agitate the audience. Because of this, they say that the event planners were negligent in preventing the crush of bodies they knew would occur.
In addition, plaintiffs say that Scott has a well-documented history of encouraging fans to rush the stage and crash his concerts by bypassing security without tickets.
The plaintiffs also contend that Scott, the concert organizers, and promoters failed to provide adequate medical staff, security, and equipment to address theknown risks. They say that the defendants failed to properly plan and conduct the concert in a safe mannerand consciously ignored the extreme risks of harm to concertgoers. Their gross negligence, victims say, caused serious injuries.
Speak to an Experienced Atlanta Truck Accident Attorney
If you or a family member sustained serious, life-altering injuries from the crush of bodies at Astroworld or suffered extreme trauma from seeing dead and crushed bodies in the crowd, contact our law office.
You are welcome to call any of our experienced personal injury lawyers for a free consultation. You can contact Tobin Injury Law at almost any hour of the day. Defense lawyers respond 24/7 to accidents; so do we.
You can contact an Atlanta accident attorney 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by calling 404-JUSTICE (404-587-8423) or using our online contact form. We offer free consultations, and we’ll be glad to answer your questions.