Over 200 Lawsuits Filed in Response to Astroworld Incident

More than 200 lawsuits have been filed over a week since the crowd surge at rapper Travis Scott’s Astroworld festival that left ten people dead and dozens more injured. 

The tragedy took place on Saturday, November 5, in which approximately 50,000 fans crowded the Houston music festival. The scene at the event was described as a “concert from hell,” as the crowd surge caused thousands of concertgoers to be crushed and packed so tightly that they could not breathe. The chaos persisted for over 40 minutes while Scott continued his performance.

The total number of lawsuits filed against event organizer Live Nation Entertainment, which has an alarming history of tragedies at their events over the last 15 years, topped 108 by the time Harris County District Court closed on Friday.

Live Nation was named a defendant in nearly all of the suits, while Scott was named in most. In addition, other organizations and people involved in the concert, including the venue NRG Stadium and rapper Drake, were named in at least one of the suits. 

“The deadly crowd surge and its aftermath unfolded right in front of Webster and Graham. Nonetheless, they continued their performance while medical personnel struggled to reach the numerous unconscious and injured concertgoers,” stated concertgoer Niaara Goods, who claims she was injured in the middle of the crowd and is suing for $1 million.

Attorneys Ben Crump and Alex Hillard announced last weekend that their firms have filed for more than 200 Astroworld attendees. Crump said that his office is representing 93 new victims in lawsuits filed on Friday, and Hillard revealed that one suit alone cites 90 plaintiffs. Crump expects hundreds of more attendees also to take legal action and has created a website for people to file claims regarding the festival’s incidents.

“Nobody should ever die from going to a concert, so this lawsuit is not justice about getting justice for them, but it’s about making sure that the promoters and the organizers know that you can not allow this to ever happen in the future,” Crump stated at last Friday’s press conference.

Last week, Crump filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Blount family, whose nine-year-old son became the tenth and youngest victim of the crowd surge after suffering severe injuries to his brain, kidney, and liver. 

Scott wrote on Twitter that he is “absolutely devastated by what took place” during the show and has vowed to cover the funeral costs for all victims. His spokesperson Stephanie Rawlings-Blake told CBS that it was not until hours after the performance that the rapper was made aware of the chaos and tragedy that unfolded. She further emphasized that he was not responsible for the fatalities and had no authority to stop the show. 

Live Nation also released a statement that it is “heartbroken for those lost and impacted at Astroworld.”

“We will continue working to provide as much information and assistance as possible to the local authorities as they investigate the situation,” the company said.