Astroworld/Travis Scott Tragedy: The Legal Perspective.

Over this past weekend (Friday, Nov 5, 2021), Travis Scott (a rapper) performed at the Astroworld Festival in Houston where eight (8) persons died, and several other injured, following a crowd surge. Lawsuits have since been filed by the families of the deceased and injured patrons.

Let’s break it down, legally.

First, let’s discuss an Entrepreneur’s liabilities under Tort Law and the Law of Negligence. Tort Law is defined as acts or ommissions resulting in injury or harm done to another (in a civil wrong). This means a Creative Entrepreneur may then become liable for injury or harm caused to another while in their care.

In some cases where an artiste is alleged to be liable for injury, it is as a result of the omissions or actions of the staff, which is known as vicarious liability. However, in this instance it could be argued that Scott’s actions were directly negligent where the lawsuits also include allegations that Scott incited the crowd and that the producer, Live Nation failed to provide adequate safety measures. In an instagram post dated 26th of October, 2021 (see below), he informed his followers that the show was sold out but said he “finessed a bit more”. Additionally, Scott has been arrested before for ‘rage’ typed concerts. There are also videos of persons climbing on to stage begging Scott to stop the show.

This breach of duty is a key factor for the court’s consideration for lawsuits involving negligence. The judge (and jury, for US citizens) would be tasked with the answering three questions: i. did Travis Scott/his agents and producers have a duty to the Astroworld attendees?; ii. did the breach of that duty in fact cause the deaths and injury of the attendees?; iii. were the incidents of death and injury caused by the act or omission that was foreseeable? In other words, could any reasonable performer predict that by encouraging more persons to enter a sold out show, that it would result in the series of events as they’ve occurred?

There are also reports that the venue may not have been well-equipped with a medical team and that attendees had to perform CPR on their behalf. If these allegations are admitted into evidence, the court will examine the skill level of these medical professionals and how it contributed to the death and injury of the attendees.

The court would determine skill based on a person who regards themself as possessing a specific skill either in relation to the general public or in relation to whomever he/she is performing the service. This means an EMERGENCY medic or other health professional ought to know how to perform in an EMERGENCY situation.

So far, in one report by kxan.com(Austin NCB news), Selena Xie, from the Emergency Medical Services, stated that the pandemic has caused a shortage of paramedics. She said “…they had doctors on scene, medical EMTs and volunteers.” She also stated that for a non-event that would have been enough but when things escalated EMS had to lend their added assistance.

The Creative Industry and Entrepreneurship are made up of persons who come up with ideas and inventions which we also know as ‘art’. While art is meant to be fun and entertaining, providing a service or a product comes with a legal responsibility to keep your consumers safe. This means hiring competent and adequate (enough) staff members and putting necessary safeguards, whether by physical measures or otherwise, to ensure venue safety.

This article does not seek to come to its own verdict but apart from the legal considerations, we cannot ignore that people were definitely harmed.

I send my sincerest condolences to all the families affected by this tragedy.

Rest In Peace:

Mizra

Rodolfo Peña, 23

Madison Dubski, 23

Franco Patino, 21

Jacob Jurinke, 20

John Hilgert, 14

Axel Acosta, 21

Briana Rodriguez, 16

Follow @creativesrights on TikTok, Twitter and Instagram for more.

#astroworld #travisscott #tortlaw #personalinjurycases