Victims Of The 2016 Falls Festival Crowd Crush Have Been Awarded A Hefty Payout
Over 70 people were injured when fans stampeded out of the DMA's set at the Grand Theatre in Lorne.
The victims of a crowd crush at the 2016 Falls Festival in Lorne will receive compensation thanks to a ruling by the Victorian Supreme Court.
The incident occurred due to “bottle-neck exits”, as fans rushed to leave the festival’s Grand Theatre stage at 11pm on December 30, making their way to where London Grammar were due to perform. In the stampede, over 70 punters were injured. At the time, as reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, a doctor expressed shock that nobody had been killed.
Now, thanks to the ruling, “about a third” of those victims will share in a nearly $7 million settlement, as reported by the ABC.
“The compensation payments will enable group members to look to, and plan for, the future. In respect of some of the larger claims, we anticipate the compensation payment will be life changing,” Maddens Lawyers’ Kathryn Emeny, who assisted in the class action, told the ABC.
In the immediate aftermath of the event at Falls, the festival itself apologised. “We are beyond shattered that a number of our festival patrons were injured and impacted by this event,” the festival’s co-producer Jessica Ducrou said at the time.
In a statement yesterday, a festival spokesperson said they hoped the outcome would “bring some relief and closure for all of the participants”.
“We also want to assure the participants, and all those who attend our events, that health and safety is our number one priority,” they stated, as reported by The Age. We care deeply about the welfare of our patrons, and are continually improving and adapting our safety protocols on an ongoing basis.”
For the victims of the incident, the ruling by the Supreme Court has been “life-changing”, Ange McCormack of Hack reports.
“I am relieved that the matter is close to finalisation and we can finally begin to put the crowd crush behind us,” one of the victims told Hack.