Hundreds of lawsuits that were filed against Travis Scott and Live Nation over last year’s deadly Astroworld Festival are now being managed as one case.
On Jan. 26, the Texas Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation granted a motion for almost 400 lawsuits to be combined for a single judge, according to Billboard. The suit will represent almost 2,800 victims who are seeking billions in damages for negligence and wrongful death in the managing and planning of the annual event. Billboard reports that this move will allow one judge to be “efficient” in pre-trial procedures and make it easier to arrange one settlement to work out all of the cases.
As REVOLT previously reported, 10 people died as a result of injuries they sustained during Astroworld. Last November, a crowd of more than 50,000 people surged toward the stage as Scott performed, leaving several people crushed and unable to breathe or move. A medical examiner’s office concluded that the 10 victims, including a 9-year-old boy, died from compression asphyxia, which occurs when air is cut off from the body due to external pressure.
The House Oversight Committee is now launching a bipartisan investigation into the Astroworld tragedy. In December, Democratic and Republican leaders sent a letter to Michael Rapino, president and chief executive officer of Live Nation, about how his company handled the festival. “Concert attendees have provided firsthand accounts of being crushed within the crowd as it surged towards the stage,” the letter read. “Live Nation Entertainment (Live Nation) was the concert promoter reportedly responsible for ‘planning, staffing, putting up money, securing permits, finding vendors, communicating with local agencies,’ for Astroworld Festival.”
The letter also mentioned how Live Nation has been sued and fined in the past over safety issues at previous events.
“We are deeply saddened by the deaths that occurred at Astroworld Festival and are committed to investigating what went wrong to inform possible reforms that could prevent future tragedies,” the Congress members added.