Live Nation Entertainment Inc., Apple, and rapper Travis Scott have been sued for $2 billion by hundreds of people who say they suffered injuries when a crowd of 50,000 people was “incited to a frenzy” at the deadly Astroworld concert in Houston Texas that left 10 people dead and hundreds of others injured.
According to a Bloomberg news report, the complaint was filed on Nov. 18 in state court in Houston and amended an earlier lawsuit brought soon after the Nov. 5 concert.
Several Lawsuits Filed
The revised complaint has increased the number of plaintiffs to 282 making it the largest case filed so far over the debacle. More attendees are expected to join this lawsuit. Live Nation promoted the concert while Apple Music live-streamed the event. NRG Stadium, the venue where the concert took place was also named in the lawsuit as a defendant, as was Canadian rapper and singer Drake. Another lawsuit filed Nov. 15 on behalf of 125 concert attendees including one of those who died seeks more than $750 million in damages.
The complaints filed in court alleged that Live Nation, which is the world’s largest concert promoter, could have prevented the carnage if it had prepared properly for the concert featuring Scott, a performer who is known for getting his fans riled up. Scott, a Houston native, pleaded guilty twice before to public disorder charges for encouraging fans to ignore security measures and rush the stage at concerts in Chicago in 2015 and in Arkansas in 2017.
No Independent Investigation
The Associated Press also reported this week that calls for an independent investigation into the Astroworld tragedy went unheeded with Houston-area officials instead choosing to direct a county administrator to conduct a review with other government entities. County Judge Lina Hidalgo, the top elected official in Harris County that includes Houston, had proposed a third-party probe of the planning and execution of the festival.
However, as it stands, the Harris County administrator will work with other city and county entities to review security, fire, and other safety measures at the county-owned NRG Park. Over 300 people were treated on-site for injuries at the show, and at least 25 were hospitalized. While a 56-page event operations plan for the festival included protocols for dangerous scenarios such as active shooter or terrorist threats and even severe weather, it did not include actions to take in the event of a crowd surge.
There are still a number of unanswered questions here related to how and why this surge occurred and what could have been done to prevent such a horrific tragedy from happening again. This crowd surge claimed 10 lives including that of a 9-year-old boy. The injured victims and families of those who have lost loved ones deserve answers and they deserve the truth.
If you or a loved one has been affected by the Astroworld concert tragedy, please contact our personal injury lawyers to find out more information about how you can seek maximum compensation for your losses.
Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-18/live-nation-apple-sued-for-2-billion-over-astroworld-disaster
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