Prominent US lawyer Ben Crump announced the filing on Friday of dozens of more lawsuits on behalf of people who attended the disastrous Travis Scott concert, including a woman who said she didn't know she was buying a "death ticket."
Crump told reporters in Houston, where the hip hop artist's concert that resulted in the deaths of nine people took place, that he and affiliated lawyers had filed 93 lawsuits against concert promoter Live Nation and others.
"We represent more than 200 victims who were injured mentally, physically and psychologically at the Astroworld festival," Crump said. "Some of these victims have been catastrophically injured.
"They witnessed people being killed. They witnessed people in agony," he said. "People were literally fighting for their life just to get out of there."
"We're not going to let anybody off the hook," said Crump, who has represented the family of George Floyd and a number of other African-Americans killed by police.
“Nobody should ever die from going to a concert. So this lawsuit is not just about getting justice for them, but it's about making sure that the promoters and the organisers know that you cannot allow this to ever happen in the future.”
Eight people died during the crush at the concert attended by about 50,000 people at NRG Park in Houston, and one more person died of their injuries in hospital on Wednesday.
Crump, who was joined by about a half dozen other lawyers, said any one of several concert officials could have prevented deaths and injuries by stopping the show and turning on the house lights when the chaos in the crowd became apparent.
Lawsuits have been filed against Live Nation; ScoreMore, a Texas concert group; ASM Global, an international venue group; and others including Scott and fellow singer Drake, who took to the stage in the final 15 minutes of the concert, well after authorities had declared an emergency.
Lawyer Alex Hilliard said the concert should never have been approved. He accused Live Nation of being criminally negligent by not having an emergency plan, adequate medical staff or equipment on site.
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Hannah Longoria leaves flowers as people visit a makeshift memorial on Sunday at the NRG Park grounds, in Houston, Texas, where eight people died in a crowd surge at the Astroworld Festival. AFP -
Local high school friends who attended the Travis Scott concert, Isaac Hernandez and Matthias Coronel, both 17, watch Jesus Martinez sign a remembrance board at the memorial. AFP -
Bryanna Morales, 17, injured in the accident, is held by her mother Elma Morales at the makeshift memorial. Morales says she was knocked down twice and injured her foot during the concert. AFP -
Bryanna Morales, 17, shows a video of the crowd surge that killed eight at the festival. She says the medical staff were not properly trained. "I was taken into the medical tent because I was having a hard time breathing and all they did was hand me a bottle of water and told me to sit in the corner." AFP -
A woman lights a candle at the memorial. Authorities in Texas opened a criminal investigation into the festival accident. AFP -
About 50,000 people were in the audience at NRG Park on Friday night when the crowd started pushing toward the stage as Scott was performing, triggering chaotic scenes. AFP -
Family members and friends have begun to share accounts of their loved ones with journalists and through social media. AFP -
Reverend Paul Felix leads a prayer vigil held for the victims of the Astroworld crowd surge, at the Annunciation Catholic Church in Houston. AFP -
Reverend Paul Felix walks down the aisle to begin a prayer vigil held for the victims of the Astroworld crowd surge, at the Annunciation Catholic Church in Houston. AFP -
Jim McIngvale, also known as Mattress Mack, looks on during a prayer vigil held for the victims of the Astroworld crowd surge. AFP -
A visitor writes a note at the memorial. AFP -
Visitors look at the memorial. AFP -
Candles are seen outside the venue of the canceled Astroworld festival. AFP -
Items of memorial outside the venue of the cancelled Astroworld festival. AFP -
Mayor Sylvester Turner speaks about the cancellation of the Astroworld festival in Houston, Texas. AFP
"We are talking about the largest organiser and promoter of festivals and concerts in the world,” Hilliard said at the briefing. “And when that happens, a failure of epic proportions on this type of scale, it is criminal.”
The lawyers did not attach a dollar figure to their lawsuits during their announcement.
On Thursday, Scott asked victims to reach out to him, saying he "desperately wishes to share his condolences and provide aid." The rapper earlier offered to pay the funeral costs of the victims and for mental health counselling for anyone who attended the festival.
Also attending Crump's press conference were several people who had gone to the concert.
"It was a nightmare day," said Gertrude Daughtery, aged 59 and a grandmother. "I never thought that a concert would turn out to be such a catastrophe.
"Never know that you will buy a ticket and it will be your death ticket," Daughtery said.
Dishon Isaac, 31, described the scene at the concert as a "war zone."
"Fights were breaking out. People were throwing water bottles," Isaac said.
"We were like sardines in a can," he said. "I realised I had to get out of there or I was going to get crushed to death.
"I'll never forget the look of terror on people's faces," Isaac said.
The nine people who were killed ranged in age from 14 to 27. A boy aged 9 remains hospitalised in critical condition, police have said.
– Additional reporting by AFP and Reuters
