Astroworld Lawsuits Continue to Mount as 1,500 Additional Victims File Claims

A Houston-area lawyer announced Monday that he had filed legal claims on behalf of over 1,500 alleged victims of the deadly Astroworld music festival, more than doubling the size of the already-huge litigation.

Represented by attorney Brent Coon, the large new group of alleged victims — 1,547 concertgoers who were allegedly hurt during a Nov. 5 Travis Scott performance that left 10 dead and hundreds injured — brings the total number of plaintiffs to nearly 2,800.

“What happened at Astroworld was an unconscionable tragedy and it is important that justice is served for all those impacted,” Coon said in a Monday press release announcing the new accusers.

Monday’s announcement did not include details on the substance of the new claims, but the lawsuits over Astroworld generally accuse Live Nation, Scott and other festival organizers of legal negligence, both in how they planned the festival and in the actions they took that fateful night. The cases are seeking billions of dollars in damages and could continue for years into the future.

The new claims came days after an agreement was reached to consolidate the lawsuits filed over Astroworld into one large “multi-district litigation.” That move will allow a single judge to oversee and coordinate complex procedures like discovery – the process of handing over internal evidence to an opponent in litigation.

The move to consolidate the cases also means that certain plaintiff’s firms will soon be chosen to take leadership positions in the massive case. In Monday’s announcement, Coon expressly pitched his firm for such leadership, noting that he reps more victims “than any other firm” and has extensive experience with such mass tort cases.

“I believe our firm is best suited to help lead this case, not only because of the number of victims who have selected our firm to represent them in this action, but due the fact that we possess the extensive legal experience as demonstrated by our lead counsel work on many plant explosions, product recalls and other mass tort actions,” Coon said.

Coon said he also runs a concert promotion company himself, making him “very familiar with how you are supposed to plan these events.”

Coon is a well-known mass injury attorney in the Houston area. He represented victims of the BP Texas City explosion in 2007, which killed 15 and injured over a thousand other workers. He currently represents victims of the massive 2019 refinery explosion at a TPC Group chemical plant in nearby Port Neches, Texas.

But he’ll face stiff competition to lead the Astroworld lawsuits. Tony Buzbee, another prominent local attorney, represents over 100 victims and has similar experience. Benjamin Crump, who rose to prominence by representing the families of Trayvon Martin, George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, represents over 200 more victims, while the Texas-based firm of attorney Thomas J. Henry represents nearly 300 more.