Travis Scott, Drake, Live Nation and more facing $2billion lawsuit over Astroworld tragedy

The suit is filed on behalf of 282 clients, with attorney Thomas J. Henry claiming that at least 120 more people have since contacted him

A Texas-based attorney has filed a $2billion lawsuit against Travis Scott, Live Nation and others over the crowd surge tragedy at Astroworld.

Thomas J. Henry filed the lawsuit against a long list of defendants, which also includes Drake, Apple Music and NRG Stadium, on behalf of the 282 people who hired Henry for representation.

“The defendants stood to make an exorbitant amount of money off of this event, and they still chose to cut corners, cut costs, and put attendees at risk,” Henry said in a statement.

“My clients want to ensure the defendants are held responsible for their actions, and they want to send the message to all performers, event organizers, and promoters that what happened at Astroworld cannot happen again.”

Ten people died and hundreds more were injured by the “mass casualty” Astroworld event that happened while Scott was onstage at Houston’s NRG Park on November 5.

Since filing the suit, Henry has claimed that at least 120 more people have reached out to him for seeking representation. In a subsequent interview with Hollywood Life, Henry elaborated on some of the injuries and trauma his clients allegedly suffered, including heart attacks, brain injuries and broken bones.

“Those who were injured are still very traumatized because they had to step over dead bodies,” he said. “They didn’t have a choice because there was nowhere to move. These people were trapped… They couldn’t breathe. They couldn’t get out.”

Apple Music has been named as a defendant in the suit filed by Henry, which alleges that Apple’s obtaining of the festival’s online streaming rights “played a critical role in the crowd-control disaster”, according to Rolling Stone.

“Early reports from the investigation of the Astroworld catastrophe indicate that the premises were arranged in a fashion that best served Apple’s online streaming of the concert at the detriment to concertgoer safety,” the suit reportedly reads.

Apple Music has yet to publicly respond to the lawsuit. NME has reached out for comment.

Scott has said he will pay for the funeral costs of victims of the Astroworld incident, while his team have also released a statement asking families of Astroworld’s victims to get in touch via email. Representatives say Scott is “distraught by the situation and desperately wishes to share his condolences and provide aid” to those affected.

Live Nation said in a previous statement that it will “continue to support and assist local authorities in their ongoing investigation” and “address all legal matters at the appropriate time”. Live Nation and other promoter ScoreMore have also revealed plans to develop a health fund to cover the festival’s attendees’ medical fees and provide mental health counselling resources.

Drake also released a statement of his own in the wake of the tragedy, which read: “My heart is broken for the families and friends of those who lost their lives and for anyone who is suffering.

“I will continue to pray for all of them, and will be of service in any way I can, May God be with you all.”

The number of lawsuits against Scott, Live Nation and other defendants related to the incident continues to soar. Henry’s filing comes just a day after another substantial suit was filed by Houston attorney Tony Buzbee, who is seeking $750million on behalf of 125 victims.

The latest fatality related to the festival was nine-year-old Ezra Blount, who died in hospital from his injuries on November 14. Blount had been placed in a medically-induced coma, following critical injury to major internal organs, including his heart, brain, kidney and liver.

The CEO of ParaDocs, the medical company hired by Astroworld, has also spoken out on the crowd surge tragedy, saying that his staff faced an “impossible feat” of treating 11 people with cardiac arrests at the same time. He also said that he’ll have “nightmares about for the rest of [his] life.”

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