*Attorneys Ben Crump and Alex Hilliard have filed lawsuits on behalf of 90 more victims of the deadly Astroworld Festival.
The death toll from the Nov. 5 concert in Houston, Texas is now at 10, but some suspect this number is actually higher and being suppressed by local officials in Scott’s hometown. Hundreds were injured at the event during a crowd surge that rushed the stage.
“They went to the concert expecting it to be safe, not expecting it to be deadly,” Crump said at a news conference on Friday in front of the Harris County Civil Courthouse in Houston, as reported by Urban Hollywood 411.
Crump and Hilliard of Hilliard Martinez Gonzales, LLP represent a total of about 250 victims.
READ MORE: 9-year-old Astroworld Victim Ezra Blount Dies After Week on Life Support
“The Astroworld Festival was by far the most traumatizing experience of my life,” said Uniqua Smith, a mother of 14-year-old twins, who spoke at the news conference. “The thing that stands out to me the most in my memory is I remember being crushed by human beings.”
“At this point, I feel I am very shaken up with large crowds,” she continued.
“This was an entirely preventable tragedy — every single festival goer experienced injuries in some form or fashion,” Hilliard stated in a phone call Friday with Urban Hollywood 41.
“Tragically some lost their lives, but what this highlights is the mental health aspect that is present and needs to be made aware of today, which is that PTSD and emotional trauma is an injury that does not heal as fast as a broken arm,” he continued.
“That type of injury is something my clients will never heal from and those that are responsible for causing it, Live Nation, need to be held accountable because this was not something that was unexpected — except people, customers that attended the festival. Everyone else knew that this was almost guaranteed to happen and yet they required people to pay $400 to put their lives at risk,” Hilliard said.
Investigators are working with the legal team to determine to cause of the crowd surge. The victims who died ranged in age from 9 to 27.
Ezra Blount, the 9-year-old who was on life support for a week after getting trampled at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival, is the latest victim to succumb to the injuries sustained at the concert.
Crump, who is also representing the Blount family in a lawsuit against Scott and concert promoter Live Nation, said in a statement: “The Blount family tonight is grieving the incomprehensible loss of their precious young son. This should not have been the outcome of taking their son to a concert, what should have been a joyful celebration. Ezra’s death is absolutely heartbreaking. We are committed to seeking answers and justice for the Blount family. But tonight we stand in solidarity with the family, in grief, and in prayer.”
The 90 lawsuits filed on Friday are from concertgoers alleging suffering from PTSD and severe physical injuries. Hilliard expects to have “anywhere from 2,500 to 5,000 clients” come forward by the end of next week, per the report.
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