Falls Festival organiser admits liability for crowd crush in $5.7m settlement

THE organisers of the Falls Festival in Lorne have admitted liability for a crowd crush at the 2016 event and will pay nearly $7 million in compensation to those who were injured.
The class action, brought by Maddens Lawyers against Ash Sounds Pty Ltd on behalf of 77 people, began at the Supreme Court of Victoria in March 2017 and had a ruling handed down on Wednesday last week.
Ash Sounds admitted it was liable for the crush in November 2018, and a proposed settlement was agreed between the parties in May of this year.
The parties agreed to settle the proceeding on the basis that the defendant pay $5.7 million to the lead plaintiff and group members’ claims, inclusive of interest and legal costs.
This sum is in addition to the $1,275,000 settlement previously paid by Ash Sounds on account of six group members’ claims.