What Are the Legal Implications of the Astroworld Aftermath?

Recently, Travis Scott's Astroworld festival made the news after a crowd surge left at least nine attendees fatally injured. Dozens more were treated throughout the night from injuries sustained during the event. As the aftermath of the horrible tragedy sinks in, the event's organizers have a lot of questions to answer. Why were precautions not taken sooner, up to ending the event for the day, after at least nine security breaches were reported prior to the deadly surge? How did the event continue unimpeded as first responders attempted to secure the scene? Was the venue overcrowded, and what measures were taken to protect concertgoers from crowd surges? The only certainty is that this event ended in a senseless and preventable tragedy that has left families across the country grieving.

Who Can Be Held Legally Responsible for Damages Suffered at the Astroworld Festival?

As days go by, there has been an increasing number of civil and criminal lawsuits filed against Travis Scott, Drake, and Live Nation Entertainment Inc., who organized the Astroworld event. It's rare for a performer to be directly sued for injuries incurred during a performance, but this is something of a unique case. Scott not only performed at Astroworld, but was also an event supervisor and organizer. The New York Times has reported that the Houston Police Chief visited Scott in person to voice his concerns over the event's growing crowd.

Additionally, this isn't the first time that Scott has faced scrutiny over encouraging reckless or dangerous behavior at his venues. He has two prior arrests for encouraging crowds in Chicago and Arkansas to storm the stage. In 2017, he encouraged fans to jump from a balcony into a crowd at a New York event, which reportedly led to a fan falling from a balcony and becoming paralyzed. In a previous iteration of Astroworld in 2019, three fans were trampled in an unruly stampede to enter the venue. With a pattern of reckless disregard for crowd safety over the years, it's not inconceivable to think that Scott could be found liable for at least a portion of the damages caused at the 2021 event. It seems less likely that a lawsuit against Drake would be successful, since he was neither an organizer nor supervisor at the event, but merely a performer.

What Could the Event's Settlement Entail?

It's impossible to know precisely what compensation will be provided to the attendees of Astroworld and their families. One of the first steps that legal experts must undertake is the procurement of the event's contracts, to determine the liability and relationships between the organizers and supervising parties. The festival's organizers were responsible for providing emergency medical personnel and services, hiring security, creating evacuation routes, building emergency plans, and controlling crowds.

Attorneys will likely argue that the festival's planners were unprepared or even negligent to the extent that it put the lives of attendees at risk. Points of contention may be the number of medical experts and security staff available, a lack of water to battle dehydration amongst festival attendees, or a failure to equip emergency personnel with appropriate life-saving equipment.

The final settlement figure depends largely on the court's determination of responsibility and the festival's insurance policy. Previous tragedies have necessitated settlements of hundreds of millions of dollars. The 2017 mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest festival, for example, resulted in venue owner MGM Resorts International and its insurance company paying $800 million in damages.

Will There Be Criminal Charges Filed?

As the civil suits progress through the court system, local authorities are likely already considering whether or not they should pursue criminal charges against Scott and others responsible for the event. It's much more challenging to win a successful conviction on criminal charges than civil charges. Civil charges require a preponderance of the evidence, or greater than 50% chance of the accusation being true. A criminal conviction requires evidence beyond reasonable doubt.

While there may have been a degree of negligence in the event's planning, staffing, and emergency response, it's uncertain whether that level of negligence rises to a criminal level. As the investigation by the local authorities progresses, it's possible that criminal charges may be sought, as they have been in previous catastrophic events.

What Should Astroworld Attendees Do?

If you or a loved one attended Astroworld and suffered injuries as a result of the festival, you should speak to a personal injury attorney as quickly as possible. You may be able to recover damages for the experience you or your loved one went through. Given the sheer number of civil cases already in process, it will likely take many months (or even years) for the legal implications of the Astroworld festival to be fully known. Litigating such a complex case is a daunting task that may challenge even an experienced lawyer. A single misstep can lead to insinuations of negligent representation. In the meantime, hopefully event coordinators are able to better protect their attendees and performers.