Falls festival crush victims launch class action against organisers
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Version 0 of 1. More than 60 people injured in a terrifying crowd crush at last year’s Falls festival are taking the event organisers to court. Nineteen people were taken to hospital with broken bones and other serious injuries and dozens more were hurt during a break between acts in the Grand Theatre at the Falls Music and Arts festival at Lorne on 30 December. A class action was lodged through the Warrnambool law firm Maddens Lawyers in the Victorian supreme court on Wednesday. A Maddens senior partner, Brendan Prendergast, said about 65 people were on the statement of claim but, since news broke of the action, more people had come forward. People paid anywhere between $249 and $468 plus booking fees to attend the four-day camping festival. Prendergast said when people handed over that amount of money, they expected to be in a safe environment. The claim alleges Ash Sounds Pty Ltd, trading as the Falls Music and Arts festival, restricted the exit from the theatre, causing the crush. It says timetabling caused a rush of people to leave and an adequate risk assessment was not done. At the time, organisers blamed the crush on a “confluence of events” and said an investigation would be carried out. On Thursday the festival co-producer Jessica Ducrou said organisers were cooperating with a WorkSafe investigation. “We have had regular contact with affected patrons since the incident and are providing ongoing assistance,” she said. “However, given the matter is as of today the subject of legal proceedings, we are not in a position to comment further.” Ducrou confirmed that Falls festival would “definitely be going ahead in 2017”. |