The parents of 14-year-old John Hilgert are suing Travis Scott and Live Nation over the deadly events that unfolded Astroworld Festival.
According to legal documents obtained by People magazine, the family is accusing the defendants of “gross negligence” and “reckless disregard” for their son’s safety. John—a high school freshman from Hedwig Village, Texas—was among the victims who were killed during the Nov. 5 music event at Houston’s NRG Park. Investigators say evidence suggests the deaths were caused by a crowd surge that began shortly before Scott’s headlining performance.
“Defendants egregiously failed in their duty to protect the health, safety, and lives of those in attendance at the concert, including but not limited to the failure to provide adequate security personnel to implement crowd control measures, proper barricades, and the failure to provide a sufficient amount of emergency medical support,” the complaint reads.
Additional defendants include Live Nation subsidiaries, Scoremore LLC and its subsidiaries, as well as other companies that were involved in the festival’s security, production, and promotion.
The plaintiffs are also demanding sweeping changes to the way concerts are conducted. These proposals cover everything from security requirements to on-site medical facilities to assigned seating rather than general admission.
“The pain of our loss from our son John not making it home alive from an event such as this is intolerable,” John’s father, Chris, said in a statement. “He was a beautiful young man who simply wanted to enjoy his first concert event with friends, whom he treasured spending time with more than anything else.
“This pain should never be felt by anyone over a loved one attending a live concert. Our sole aim in filing this lawsuit is to prevent this type of tragedy from ever happening again at a live concert. There is no excuse for the poor crowd design, event execution and lack of response that was exercised at this festival that resulted in the tragic death of our son and nine others along with scores of other people that were innocently injured.”
The lawsuit was filed attorney Richard Mithoff, who is also representing the family of another Astroworld attendee. The second suit is centered on one of John’s friends who was injured during the event. Both complaints are reportedly seeking $1 million in damages.
Scott is facing a number of lawsuits related to the Astroworld tragedy. One complaint is seeking $750 million for attendees who suffered mental and/or phyiscal distress as a result of the incident, while another is asking for a whopping $2 billion in damages.
