90% of wrongful death lawsuits settled after Astroworld crowd surge disaster
Live Nation has reached settlements in nine of the 10 wrongful death lawsuits related to the fatal crowd crush at the 2021 Astroworld music festival in Houston.
One of the suits, filed by the family a 23-year-old woman killed during the Travis Scott concert, was scheduled to go to trial next week.
During a hearing on Wednesday, an attorney representing Live Nation, the event’s promoter, said only one of the remaining lawsuits was pending. The settlement came after Apple — which livestreamed the Nov. 5, 2021, concert — appealed after its request to be dismissed from the case was rejected.
Terms of the settlements have not been released.
The remaining case was filed by the family of 9-year-old Ezra Blount, the youngest person killed during the concert. No trial date has yet to be set.
The deceased persons, who ranged in age from 9 to 27, died from compression asphyxia. The medical examiner for Harris County later ruled the deaths accidental.
Neal Manne, an attorney for Live Nation, said Wednesday that about 2,400 injury cases filed after the concert are still pending. Many of the complaints have accused the defendants — Scott, Live Nation, Apple and others — of negligence and ignoring capacity and safety concerns.
Less than a year ago, a Texas grand jury decided against charging Scott for his role in the tragedy.
The settlements come after the Justice Department said last month it plans to sue Live Nation for antitrust violations.