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.
Houston Attorney Chad Pinkerton of The Pinkerton Law Firm, PLLC, posted the following to his Facebook page on Saturday 6 Nov. 2021 at 11:06 a.m. accompanied by the following photograph of the crowd storming the entrance gates hours before the shows began:
“First, my thoughts and prayers go out to the victims. What a horrific situation. I just feel for the victims and their parents. That includes the kids still in the hospital today. Eight people died. Over 300 received medical treatment. Just awful.
Second, I’m gathering information right now. But what I’m seeing is really insane. Clearly, there was not enough security. Mr. Scott apparently told kids to charge the stage and to ignore security. If that happened, it’s inexcusable. He also continued to sing while an unconscious kid was being carried out by fans. Mr. Scott has a history of inciting this type of chaos. He did it in NY and a patron was paralyzed.
Third, the venue operations were a mess. There was a complete lack of security. There was a complete lack of response personnel. My understanding is that there were not enough AED devices and only one or two ambulances on-site for 50,000 patrons. Ridiculous. The venue also created this mosh pit intentionally with no method of controlling the situation. This is Mr. Scott’s pattern at his concerts. However, the venue is supposed to create and ensure a safe environment. It failed miserably.
The last thing I’ll say is this: There will be a ton of litigation that comes from this horrible situation. Frankly, that’s needed. These performers and venues need to know that patron safety has to come first. All too often safety is ignored and people get hurt. No doubt I’m going to be involved in this case. Things only change when you hit people and companies in the pocketbook.
I did it in the MGM case in Las Vegas where 57 people were killed and over 4,000 were injured. That case settled for 800 million. But, importantly, MGM learned a lesson. The venue operator, in that case, was Live Nation—just like at Travis Scott’s concert. Apparently, Live Nation hasn’t learned yet that safety matters.
If you were hurt or know someone who was and want to talk to a lawyer, call my firm at 713-360-6722. I’m happy to discuss the legal issues and potential litigation. Not to toot my own horn, but I’ve done these cases many times before and won big. I’ll do it again in this case.”
