2021 Astroworld tragedy: Is Travis Scott still battling lawsuits filed by victims’ families?
HOUSTON, TEXAS: Kylie Jenner was recently criticized for her Astroworld Festival-themed birthday bashes for her children, Stormi and Aire Webster. Her home was decorated in a similar style to Astroworld, and Kylie previously labeled her daughter's birthday as 'Stormiworld,' alluding directly to Travis Scott's annual event. The tragedy at Astroworld occurred on Nov. 5, 2021, where 10 people died following a stampede and her ex-boyfriend Travis Scott was the accused in the case.
After the incident, more than 4,900 alleged victims have filed legal claims against Live Nation, Travis Scott, and other festival organizers, according to Billboard. The victim's families who filed the case were also seeking billions in damages over the disaster.
RELATED ARTICLES
Astroworld: Travis Scott defends playing on, says ‘did not understand severity’ of stampede
Was Astroworld tragedy avoidable? Stampede at entrance should have led to cancellation
How many lawsuits were there against Travis Scott?
According to Billboard, the total number of lawsuits in the massive tragedy was around 387, registered by 2800 victims. However, it was combined into one single case with permission from both parties. This process is called 'multidistrict litigation' which is standard procedure in mass injury lawsuits. One of the predominant goals in such cases is to avoid the inefficiency in trials and bring similar cases together. It will allow a single judge to coordinate the cases to streamline complex pre-trial procedures.
What were the allegations against Travis Scott?
One of the victims' families claimed that Live Nation and Scott had “egregiously failed in their duty to protect the health, safety, and lives of those in attendance.” The claim also stated, “Many individuals were seen lifting up the unconscious bodies of friends and strangers and surfed them over the top of the crowd, hoping to send them to safety,” Crump wrote in the lawsuit. “Further, several individuals were shouting for help with CPR and pleading with Defendants to stop the concert.” Most of the lawsuits claimed that the injuries and deaths were caused by various forms of negligence on the part of the defendants.
Another concertgoer, Manuel Souza stated in his suit, "the disaster was the direct result of a motivation for profit at the expense of concertgoers’ health and safety and the encouragement of violence. Defendants failed to properly plan and conduct the concert in a safe manner. Instead, they consciously ignored the extreme risks of harm to concertgoers, and, in some cases actively encouraged and fomented dangerous behaviors.” The suit also claimed, “Eventually, due to defendants’ active decision to let the show go on, the scene devolved into a complete melee, resulting in the needless, untimely death of at least 8 people and injuries to scores of others. " Scott was criticized in this suit claiming, “This kind of behavior has long been encouraged by the festival’s founder and main performer. His express encouragement of violence has previously resulted in serious violence at numerous past concerts.”
A couple, Shanazia Williamson and Jarawd Owens, also filed a suit claiming that "our unborn child died as a result of the Astroworld stampede, according to Vulture. “While in attendance at the festival, Shanazia was trampled and crushed resulting in horrific injuries and ultimately the death of her and Jarawd’s unborn child." A suit by Axel Acosta's parents added, "Axel Acosta loved and adored Travis Scott and the other performers at Astroworld — the feeling was not mutual. Certainly, neither Travis Scott nor his exclusive partners, streaming service, record labels, handlers, entourage, managers, agents, hangers-on, promoters, organizers, or sponsors cared enough about Axel Acosta and the other concertgoers to make an even minimal effort to keep them safe.”
Kristian Paredes, another concert attendee stated in his suit, “Defendants were negligent for inciting a riot and violence. The occurrence here in was due to the negligence, carelessness and recklessness of the defendants, their agents, servants and employees, in the ownership, management, maintenance, operation, supervision, and the control of the subject premises … as a direct and proximate result of the incident and the negligent conduct of the Defendants, Plaintiff suffered severe bodily injuries. The injuries have had a serious effect on the Plaintiff’s health and well-being. Some of the effects are permanent and will abide with the Plaintiff for a long time into the future, if not for his entire life.”
Twenty-one-year-old attendee Noah Gutierrez also filed suit against Scott claiming, “I was suddenly forced to watch in terror as several concertgoers were injured and killed as a result of a crowd surge.” It stated that several attendees were “kicked, stepped on, trampled, and tragically crushed to death as a result of compressive asphyxia, which is caused when people are pushed against one another so tightly that their airways become constricted.” The suit also explained that many were “shouting for help with CPR and pleading with Defendants to stop the concert,” but that “despite the chaos which Defendants were aware of or should have been aware of,” they failed to stop the show until more than 40 minutes after a “mass casualty” incident was declared.
Tobenna Okezie, another complainant stated, the disaster "was a result of inadequate security and a security plan to protect attendees at the festival, conditions were created and consented to by the festival organizers that caused several stampedes and a crowd compression that resulted in the tragic deaths of eight individuals and the serious injuries of hundreds more. It has been seriously and permanently injured by the recklessness and conscious indifference of the Defendants.” Coritius Broussard, another complainant added in his claim, the organizers “failed to provide the proper safety planning, security, and medical personnel, proximately causing Plaintiff’s injuries.” Briannae Garcia, another attendee wrote in the complaint, “the acts and omission of the Defendants as described above constitute negligence."
Natasha Celedon, another concertgoer claimed in the suit, "defendants had actual subjective awareness of the risks involved, but nevertheless [proceeded] with conscious indifference to the rights, safety, or welfare of others, including the Plaintiff.” Marielena Chavez complained of negligence, saying "Plaintiff has suffered physical injuries and economic damages, both in the past and, in probability, in the future for which he/she seeks financial remuneration.” Wasem Abulawi stated in the suit, he was “seriously and permanently injured by the recklessness and indifference” of Scott and the promoters.
In Patrick Polier's suit, he stated, the disaster was “a result of inadequate security and a security plan to protect attendees at the festival, conditions were created and consented to by the festival that caused several stampedes and a crowd compression that resulted in the tragic deaths of eight individuals and the serious injuries of hundreds more.” Another suit by Dante Deberardino stated, "when viewed objectively from the standpoint of Defendants at the time of its occurrence, involved an extreme degree of risk considering the probability and magnitude of the potential harm to others.” Ilhan Mohamud, another concertgoer, added that she “was forced to witness several concertgoers who [were] being crushed, trampled, and killed within very close proximity to where [she] was trapped within the crowd.” She “experienced severe physical pain and unimaginable terror and emotional trauma.”
Cristian Guzman, another concertgoer, claimed in the suit, "There are numerous videos showing people dancing on top of [vehicles] … videos of unconscious bodies being crowd surfed to medical attention, and numerous comments about the medical staff being under trained and not provided with sufficient equipment. All the while, the show went on with Travis Scott continuing to perform—even after stopping the show because he saw people that needed help.” Brandon Kemp, Reilly Corcoran, and Alex Sander alleged that promoters and security “failed to take appropriate action to secure the area and restrain the crowd. They were aware of the risky circumstances, but nevertheless proceeded in conscious indifference to the rights, safety, and welfare of the Plaintiffs and other members of the public."
Patrick Stennis, another complainant claimed that he endured “severe injuries and the injuries that happened at Astroworld has already been classified as one of the deadliest crowd-control disasters at a concert in the United States in decades.” Tiffany Delgado's lawsuit claims that the tragedy occurred "as a result of inadequate security and a security plan to protect attendees at the festival, conditions were created and consented to by the festival organizers that caused several stampedes and a crowd compression that resulted in the tragic deaths of eight individuals and the serious injuries of hundreds more.” Maria D. Peña, one of the complainants stated, "The Defendants are liable for the injuries and death of Rudy Peña,” her suit alleges. “They knew or should have known that the [conditions] were unsafe and presented an unreasonable risk of harm to the concertgoers. Despite the hazards, they let the show go on. They had a duty to exercise reasonable care to ensure the safety of those attending the concert,” the suit filed by attorney Steve T. Hastings, states. “They breached their duties which resulted in the [untimely] death of Rudy Peña.”
“Defendants egregiously failed in their duty to protect the health, safety, and lives of those in attendance at the concert, including but not limited to the failure to provide adequate security personnel to implement crowd control measures, proper barricades, and the failure to provide a sufficient amount of emergency medical support," said John Hilgert's lawsuit.
How many cases of Travis Scott have been settled?
The lawsuit for damages was seeking a total of $750 million. However, Victim Axel Acosta's parents and 16-year-old Brianna Rodriguez also settled an ongoing lawsuit. 21-year-old Axel Acosta's lawyer then stated, "the claims brought by the family of Axel Acosta against Travis Scott, Live Nation, and others involved in the Astroworld tragedy have settled. The terms are confidential. Victim Axel Acosta was a beloved son, brother, and student. He was kind and loving. He is greatly missed. Please keep his family in your prayers, "as per Mix Mag.