John Hilgert’s family filed a lawsuit against Travis Scott, his music production company, on Wednesday. They are demanding that the music industry be changed. The 14-year-old was one of 10 people killed during a brutal crowd rush during Scott’s Astroworld Festival in Houston.
The suit was filed by attorney Richard Mithoff, who was hired by John’s parents, Chris and Nichole Hilgert. It names Scott, Live Nation Worldwide and its affiliates, Scoremore LLC and its subsidiary, as well other entities involved in production promotion and security.
Mithoff also filed another lawsuit for Adam and Jennifer Cox (parents of a minor), in which Mithoff was named as the defendant. “B.C.,”Hilgert’s friend and was also injured in the stampede. Both suits allege negligence and gross negligence by all defendants.
“No one should die going to a concert,”Mithoff stated this in a statement.
The Hilgerts are calling for changes in the organization of concerts, including security requirements and availability of medical facilities. Also, they want to eliminate poorly designed general admission seating.
“The pain of our loss from our son John not making it home alive from an event such as this is intolerable,”Chris Hilgert made the 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.”
He said, “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.”
Astroworld attendees have filed hundreds of lawsuits claiming that the event caused them psychological trauma and injuries. Scott and Live Nation have been named in numerous lawsuits that could result in billions in damages. Two security guards at the festival were injured by the commotion of the fans and sued Scott and Astroworld.