– Settlements Reached in Travis Scott Astroworld Concert Deaths
– Travis Scott Astroworld Concert Deaths Settlements Reached.
Accident – Death – Obituary News :
A lawyer representing Live Nation, the concert company, revealed in court on Wednesday that settlements had been reached in all but one of the lawsuits related to the tragic deaths of 10 individuals who were fatally crushed during a performance by Travis Scott at the 2021 Astroworld festival in Houston.
This disclosure came as legal teams were gearing up for the first trial concerning these fatalities. The plaintiffs’ lawyer in that case confirmed the settlement with the defendants, including Mr. Scott, Live Nation, and Apple, which live-streamed the event.
The trial was anticipated to provide the jury with distressing accounts of the chaotic environment at the November 5, 2021 concert and the warnings raised by some staff members. The victims, including two teenagers and a 9-year-old boy, tragically suffocated in the midst of the overcrowded crowd while Mr. Scott was performing.
Organizers Aware of Venue Size Issues
Evidence uncovered during trial preparations revealed that some of the Astroworld festival organizers were aware that the venue space was insufficient. It was shown that Mr. Scott continued performing despite people suffocating, indicating a plan to prolong the show until after Drake’s performance, despite attempts to halt the show earlier. A police investigation highlighted a potential reason cited by the plaintiffs: a $4.5 million contract with Apple that required Mr. Scott to complete the show to receive payment.
Mr. Scott was expected to be present for at least part of the trial.
The plaintiffs in the initial case were the family and estate of Madison Dubiski, a 23-year-old from the Houston area who lost her life at the concert. Their legal team argued that the organizers and promoters had created an extremely hazardous environment while seeking to maximize crowd size and profits.
“The parties have successfully reached a confidential settlement,” stated one of the lawyers, Jason Itkin. “Moving forward, the parties will collaborate to honour Madison Dubiski’s legacy and advocate for enhancements in concert safety.”
Only the family of the 9-year-old boy, Ezra Blount, has yet to reach settlements with all defendants. A trial in his case could potentially proceed. “The Blount family is prepared for trial,” stated Scott West, a lawyer representing the boy’s family, to the overseeing judge on Wednesday.
Details of Chaos Unveiled in Court
While Judge Kristen Hawkins imposed a strict gag order, preventing involved parties from commenting, information has already surfaced in court filings regarding the severe failures at the outdoor venue.
“Stage right of main is getting crushed,” a security contractor, Reece Wheeler, messaged a security director just before Mr. Scott’s performance at 9 p.m., as described in one of the plaintiffs’ filings. “This is bad. Pulled tons over the rail unconscious.”
“I would pull the plug but that’s just me,” he wrote a minute later. “I know they’ll try to fight through it, but I would want it on the record that I didn’t advise this to continue. Someone’s going to end up dead.”
Concertgoers with serious injuries began arriving at the medical tent around 9:15 p.m., according to police reports, including Ezra Blount.
The concert didn’t conclude until about 10:13 p.m.
The plaintiffs in the Dubiski case contended that organizers were aware they had oversold tickets, leading to an unsafe crowd capacity, insufficient security during the event, and a failure to halt the show when it was evident people were being crushed.
Defence Statements and Lawsuits Against Apple
Mr. Scott’s legal team stated that the performer was “devastated” by his fans’ deaths but bore no responsibility for the festival’s design or security. They argued that even if the show had been stopped “10 minutes earlier,” the tragedy wouldn’t have been averted.
“No one disputes that a tragedy unfolded at the Astroworld Festival,” Mr. Scott’s lawyers contended in legal motions before the trial. “However, promoting and performing at a concert do not equate to the power to control a crowd or design a venue safely.”
The plaintiffs also sued Apple, alleging that the company’s decision to livestream the event came late in the process, after tickets were sold and the projected crowd size was already expected to fill the space. They claimed the stage production may have contributed to tighter crowd packing. Despite being outdoors, trees lined each side of the crowd, constricting space.
Houston Police Department investigators also noted that Mr. Scott’s $4.5 million contract with Apple seemed to necessitate him finishing the show.
Denial of Responsibility
Several defendants have denied responsibility for the tragic events. However, they haven’t been entirely unified. For instance, lawyers representing the venue operator, ASM Global, successfully opposed attempts by Mr. Scott and his companies to be removed from the case, citing evidence that one of Mr. Scott’s associates continued the show against police advice.
Mr. Scott and his company, the lawyers argued, “should not have moved for summary judgment; they should have issued a public apology to the City of Houston.” (Mr. Scott’s summary judgment request was denied last month.)
Last year, a grand jury opted not to indict Mr. Scott or others involved in the festival. Subsequently, the Houston police released 1,200 pages of reports, including interview summaries, from their Astroworld disaster investigation.
Several festival personnel informed the police that they had raised concerns about potential dangerous overcrowding before the show commenced. They also warned of crushing conditions as the music started just after 9 p.m., particularly in the section where all 10 deaths occurred.
As Mr. Scott began performing his first song, “Escape Plan,” individuals were already pleading for help and collapsing in piles, according to police reports and court documents.
Flawed Crowd Capacity Calculations
In their filings, the plaintiffs argued that the organizers used flawed crowd-capacity calculations and designed an unconventional festival layout that made it likely for tens of thousands of attendees to move at once towards the single stage set up solely for Mr. Scott’s night-time performance.
“I feel like there is no way we are going to fit 50k in front of that stage,” Seyth Boardman, in charge of risk and security, messaged the festival’s operations director, Emily Ockenden, a few days before the event. “Especially with all of the trees!”
The following day, Ms. Ockenden communicated with an employee responsible for the site’s capacity plan. “I need to show 40k at stage 2 and 50 at stage 1,” where Mr. Scott would perform, she wrote.
However, the venue wasn’t sufficiently large, as the employee observed. “Stage 1 you got 40,105,” the employee noted. “Even if I cheat it on stage right, I don’t think you’ll get another 10k.”
At the start of the show, around 55,000 individuals were present, according to police reports, some of whom had entered without tickets.
Continued Show Amidst Chaos
The concert persisted for well over an hour as attendees struggled to breathe and some collapsed, continuing long after on-site police officers had begun calling for the show to end.
As per a timeline in the police report, a police commander instructed Mr. Boardman, the risk and security director, to halt the show around 9:40 p.m. Mr. Boardman relayed this message to those communicating with Mr. Scott.
“There are more crush victims than I have ever seen in my 25-year career,” Mr. Boardman informed a man closely associated with Mr. Scott around 9:51 p.m., according to a police transcript of a concert recording. He indicated the show had to conclude by 10 o’clock but faced resistance.
“I want him to end the show,” Mr. Boardman insisted. “I want him to end the show.”
Subsequently, a different message circulated backstage, as per filings and police records: Mr. Scott would continue performing until after rapper Drake’s appearance.
The decisions to proceed with the show despite known risks and to continue the music as individuals were perishing appeared to be crucial aspects of the trial before the settlements were reached.
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– settlements reached in travis scott astroworld concert deaths
– travis scott astroworld concert deaths settlements reached.
