Ben Crump Files Nearly 100 New Lawsuits On Behalf Of Astroworld Attendees, Total Count Now Tops 200 – Updated
UPDATED: Today Ben Crump, the lawyer best known for his representation of the family of George Floyd and Trayvon Martin, announced at a press conference that he and other attorneys filed a lawsuit on behalf of 90 people who attended Travis Scott’s Astroworld festival.
Nine people have died as a result of injuries sustained at the festival, where a surging crowd hurt hundreds of people.
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Crump said victims were injured “mentally, physically and psychologically…This should have never, ever happened,” he continued.
“This lawsuit is not just about getting justice for them, but it’s about making sure the promoters and the organizers know that you cannot allow this to ever happen in the future, even if you have to immediately stop the concert,” Crump said. He specifically called out Live Nation.
“There were several people who could have stopped this concert when we saw these tragic cincumstances start to occur around the 9:05 timeline — and we have a timeline that breaks it down — and each and every one of them could have stopped the music…and everybody could just take a breath. But they didn’t do that. And that’s what we are saying to Live Nation and everybody involved: In the future, safety must be paramount.”
Crump has also repped multiple victims of the Flint water crisis and a group of plaintiffs against Johnson & Johnson over alleged carcinogens in its baby powder.
In the Astroworld cases, Crump’s firm has teamed with Corpus Christi-based law Hilliard Martinez Gonzales, LLP. He is also representing nine-year-old Ezra Blount, who is in a medically-induced coma after being “trampled nearly to death” at the festival.
San Antonio lawyer Thomas J. Henry, who filed the first Astroworld lawsuit last weekend, told CNN on Wednesday that he had 110 clients who are part of the legal action, and the list is growing. For more on Henry’s clients, see below. There are additionally three San Antonio families who are being represented by attorney Marco Crawford.
Also on Friday, Cesar Ornelas Law is expected to make an announcement regarding lawsuits in San Antonio, according to reporting from local station KSAT.
Overall, the flurry of filings puts the total number of lawsuits filed after last week’s tragic events above 200, with more sure to come.
PREVIOUSLY on Nov. 10: The San Antonio lawyer who filed the first lawsuit last weekend over the tragic events at the Astroworld Festival now says he has over 100 clients who are part of the legal action.
“I represent now about 150 people,” Thomas J. Henry told CNN’s Jack Tapper this afternoon. “That lawsuit will be amended day by day. It’s about 110 people at the moment, but I expect probably by tomorrow lunch it’ll be about 150 and, by the end of the day based on the trends I am seeing and people reaching out to my law firm, that it may get as high as 200 by the end of the day tomorrow.”
Henry filed the first suit against Travis Scott, Drake and show producer Live Nation on Sunday after eight people were killed at the Astroworld Festival. The complaint was filed on behalf of Kristian Paredes, 23, from Austin, Texas. That suit accuses the rappers, Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation of negligence.
That suit asked for more than a million dollars and claims the rappers “incited the crowd” into actions that left him “severely injured.”
Travis Scott was on stage when the surge happened, joined by Drake.
The suit contends the two continued to perform as the crowd grew increasingly out of control. Paredes claims he was in front of the general admission section, with a metal barrier separating him from the VIP section.
And as the list of plaintiffs grows, Henry also sees the damages growing.
“While we are all still working to understand the full scope of the Astroworld tragedy, I believe the damages suffered by its victims could total in the billions,” Henry said in a press release obtained today by the Houston Chronicle.
Bruce Haring contributed to this report.
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