11/11/2021 Update: Since the time of publishing this post, one more person has died of their injuries. The total number of deaths from the Astroworld Music Festival Mass Casualty Event is now 9.
Why has Live Nation Been Sued or Cited in the Past?
Reports indicate the promoter of Astroworld Festival has been previously cited for security subjects by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. In the previous decade, Live Nation Entertainment, the world’s largest live music promoter, has been fined or sued for crowd behavior and equipment failures at various locations and shows. In 2019, prior to the pandemic shutting down the live music industry, Live Nation estimated about 98 million fans attended their shows worldwide.
In a case settled in 2012, Live Nation was fined $4,250 after an employee operating as a rigger had his or her finger crushed while unclipping a cable. The digit was subsequently amputated.
Lisa Keri Stricklin, a patron who was injured at Gwen Stefani’s July 23, 2016 concert at the PNC Pavilion in Charlotte, North Carolina, filed a lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment and the singer.
According to the legal complaint, concert goers were initially seated in a reserved section and lawn seats before being moved. During the performance, Stefani made an unplanned statement allowing people in the lawn seats to relocate to the reserve area and “fill in anywhere you like.”
“This announcement created a stampede of patrons … with many patrons knocking over and breaching the security barricades,” the lawsuit contended.
Stricklin asserted she was “trampled by the rush of patrons,” causing intense physical wounds, comprising a fractured leg.
On March 12, 2019, attorneys for all parties in the suit filed a stipulation of dismissal, which is often an indication that a case will be resolved out of court.
The firm was fined $5,350 in 2019 for an incident that occurred a year earlier, when a worker walking near a staging area was struck on the head by a six-foot metal pole.
In 2020, sound engineer and tour manager Jared Jackson sued Live Nation and six other defendants for negligence, claiming he was hurt while falling on stage after warning of “unsafe” settings at the 2017 Paradiso Festival at the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington, where he was employed to work for some of the performers on the flier.
In the middle of the show, Jackson “fell through an eight-foot by eight-foot gap in the stage, which was covered with decorative camouflage netting,” concurring to his lawsuit. “(Jackson) fell approximately 12 feet, suffering severe injuries to his legs and body.”
He alleges his medical costs have totaled $230,000 and his lost wages and earning ability exceeded $100,000.
The security precautions in place at Friday’s Travis Scott-fronted musical event in Houston will be closely examined. During the closing set by Scott, eight people ranging in age from 14 to 27 were trampled to death and hundreds more were injured.
