Houston was shocked and saddened by the deaths and injuries at the Astroworld Festival on Friday, November 6, 2021. People who were injured and families who lost loved ones wasted no time pursing legal action. By November 8 there were already 19 personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits against Live Nation, Travis Scott and other organizers and festival participants.
Who should be liable for deaths and injuries that happened at the concert? The venue? The company contracted to provide security? The artist? All of the above?
Liability at these types of events can be complicated, and there are many important factors that may affect liability and damages.
Premises Liability Injuries and Deaths at Venues
Injuries at concerts are fundamentally premises liability claims. Most premises liability claims are brought against the property owner or business. However, concert venues are a little different since the people at the venue are there to see specific musicians, and that artist’s actions may play a role in their injuries.
This most often comes up in scenarios where the artist:
- Kicks or throws something at the audience
- Encourages the audience to act violently towards another audience member
- Encourages the audience to participate in dangerous activities
Travis Scott isn’t a stranger to those types of controversies. He was previously sued in 2017 after allegedly encouraging audience members at a show to jump off a balcony in the venue. One audience member, who claims he didn’t jump but was pushed off the balcony by other audience members, was paralyzed by the incident.
In 2015, Scott pleaded guilty to a reckless conduct charge after encouraging fans to vault security barricades at Lollapalooza in Chicago. Two years later Scott pleaded guilty again to inciting disorderly conduct for goading fans into rushing the stage at a show in Arkansas. Prosecutors in that case dropped additional charges for inciting a riot and endangering minors.
Past criminal convictions or guilty pleas often can’t be admitted into evidence (Texas Evidentiary Rule 609) in personal injury cases, especially if they’re not felonies. However, there may be circumstances where exceptions are made.
Based on initial reporting it doesn’t appear as if Scott encouraged fans to stampede or crush forward at the Astroworld Festival. In fact, it seems as if he stopped his act at least once to encourage security to take action to help a fan who was showing obvious signs of distress.
What does potentially open Scott up to liability is the fact that he was an organizer of the festival. The organizers in this case are more likely to be liable than the property owner or the other artists on stage, as long as it can be proven that the injuries weren’t a result of the artists’ actions.
Are the Damages Reasonable?
Personal injury lawsuits aren’t get-rich-quick schemes. They’re intended to make people physically, emotionally and financially whole after they’ve been injured by another person’s negligence. People with injuries from being crushed should potentially be able to get their hospital bills and rehabilitation costs covered, but they may have some trouble getting seven figures of pain and suffering damages out of the concert organizers.
It’s often up to attorneys to make a compelling argument to justify why such a high pain and suffering multiplier is appropriate for their client.
Other Potential Causes of Injury and Death
Investigators are looking into the role illegal drugs may have played in the injuries and deaths at the Astroworld Festival. If it turns out some of the people who were injured or killed were high on counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl at the time, it could complicate their cases.
Texas is a modified comparative negligence state, which means your own culpability for your injuries would be factored into your damage calculation. If the injured person turns out to be more than half responsible for their own injuries, they may end up receiving no damages.
Fentanyl and other opiates can slow or stop breathing. In crowd surge events the crush of people compresses the lungs causing the victim’s oxygen levels to rapidly drop.
It’s still far too early to know for sure if drugs played a role in any injuries or deaths at the Astroworld Festival, but in personal injury or wrongful death scenarios like this, the plaintiff’s intoxication can potentially bolster the defense’s case.
A Long Road Ahead for Victims of Astroworld
These types of investigations take time. Officials at the Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office have said it may take weeks before causes of death will even be determined in all these cases. There are many factors that may influence not only the success of these personal injury and wrongful death claims but also the eventual damages that can be attained.
Get Aggressive Personal Injury Representation in Houston
The Weycer Law Firm is committed to representing people injured in Houston as well as family members who have lost a loved one due to someone else’s negligence. If you or a loved one have suffered a serious injury at the Astroworld Festival or anywhere else, call us at (713) 668-4545 for a free consultation.