Michela Burke is lead plantiff in the case. A class action lawsuit has just been filed against Falls Festival over the crowd crush incident. By Kylie Stevens For Daily Mail Australia, Published: 21:01 EST, 15 September 2020 | Updated: 02:14 EST, 16 September 2020. Twenty-nine people were taken to hospital at the time, while Ambulance Victoria assessed 80 people at the festival. "You [the defence] have admitted liability," Justice McDonald said. More than 60 victims of a terrifying crowd crush at last year’s Falls Festival are taking the event organisers to court. Some have developed post-traumatic stress disorder. Hundreds of people were caught in a crowd crush at the Falls Festival in Lorne on December 30, 2016, as they rushed from one stage area to another about 9.50pm. Maddens Lawyers in Warrnambool have spoken to people caught up in the crush, many of whom are from the south-western Victorian town. The Victorian Supreme Court has awarded damages of almost $7 million to 77 Falls Festival Lorne patrons who were injured in a crush at the festival in December 2016. The injuries to people caught in the crush included open fractures, permanent scarring and psychological impact, the court has previously heard. Then I had a blank. By Brandon John Mar 15, 2017 . Fiona Yuen stood in the crowd crammed inside the Grand Theatre at Falls Festival and thought: There are too many people in this tent. Revellers paid anywhere from $249 to $468 plus booking fees to go to the four-day camping festival. Police kept the event, a parade through streets and parkland in the city, open, fearing another stampede. With plenty of festivals in full swing over New Year's — and the peak festival period upon us during summer — here's hoping for a safe rest of the season. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, People required stitches and there was large gashes. 'It does reflect the pain and suffering that occurred. 'It was just over and there was too many people in the first place. Paramedics treated about 80 people for various injuries with 20 taken to hospital for further treatment as a result of the crush, which occurred as festival-goers tried to leave a performance by Australian rock band DMA's shortly before 11:00pm on Friday night. Falls Festival crowd crush: Trial set for 'stampede' compensation claims. We care deeply about the welfare of our patrons, and are continually improving and adapting our safety protocols on an ongoing basis,' they said in a statement. Anyone involved in the incident can still apply to be a part of the class action. Also among the injured was Nick Moriarty, then 22, who was at the front of the crowd. A young man is stuck in a wheelchair for weeks after he was crushed along with dozens of others in a stampede at the Falls Festival. Falls Festival organisers Ash Sounds Pty Ltd has admitted negligence for the crowd crush, but court documents show the company is fighting the "significant injury" claims for some of the festival-goers. Falls Festival organisers will pay out almost $7million to 77 revellers after the 'lifechanging' settlement was recently approved by the Victorian Supreme Court. In 2010, 21 people died at a techno festival in Duisberg, Germany, in a crowd crush in a tunnel. Farm Heroes Saga, the #4 Game on iTunes. Brendan Pentergast is the lawyer spearheading the possible class action lawsuit - that is, a legal challenge mounted on behalf of a group of people, in this case, festival-goers who were injured or traumatised. Nineteen festival goers were hospitalised and another 76 needed first aid after they were caught up in a stampede that broke out between acts at the Falls Festival in Lorne in regional Victoria on December 30, 2016. Festivalgoer Olivia Jones' injured leg as a result of Friday night's crush. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones. Hundreds of people were caught in a crowd crush at the Falls Festival in Lorne on December 30, 2016, as they rushed from one stage area to another about 9.50pm. “You go to a festival thinking that you‘re going to have fun and feel safe. Couldn't move anywhere but where the crowd was going, that wasn't an actual stampede or crush but if someone fell down they would have been trampled and injured, you can't stop the crowd. Play it now. Falls Festival, Lorne, shows the tent in question, where the 'stampede' incident happened. Revellers were leaving Australian rock band DMAs' performance to see London Grammar on another stage when the overcrowded exit became congested, which resulted in revellers being crushed and trampled on. News. Updated 12/12/2018 The organisers of Victoria's popular Falls Festival have admitted their actions were to blame for a crowd crush that injured more than 70 people two years ago. More than 70 victims of the 2016 crowd crush at Falls Festival will receive a share of almost $7 million, following a settlement approval from the Victorian Supreme Court. Erin covers crime for The Age. No comments have so far been submitted. She still bears long lasting emotional scars from the ordeal and can no longer listen to music from the band that was performing at the festival. Organisers of Victoria's popular Falls Festival have admitted their conduct was at fault for a crush that injured more than 70 people in December 2016. In respect of some of the larger claims, we anticipate the compensation payment will be life changing,' Maddens Lawyers' Kathryn Emeny said. But Maddens says medical reviews for half of the remaining 71 applicants are yet to be finalised, meaning further trials could be sought at a later date. Mr Holman said crowd crushes at overseas festivals had caused multiple injuries and it had been a relief that no one was critically injured. Falls Festival organisers cancelled the night’s entertainment following the crowd crush incident on Friday night, and set up phone lines on site to allow festival-goers to call home. Falls Festival is CANCELLED: Iconic New Year's Eve music... Traumatised victims caught in Falls Festival stampede that... 'Life changing': Falls Festival pays Lorne crowd crush victims almost $7 million in class action settlement - Hack - triple jhttps://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/falls-festival-class-action-settlement-approved/12665346. Of those 60, NSW Police report that 19 have been taken to hospital with serious injuries although none are life-threatening. In an Amended Defence dated 15 November 2018 the Defendant admitted liability for the Crowd Crush. This photo was taken from the main stage (Valley Stage) and the white tent in the background is the tent stage (Grand Theatre).Credit:Carbie Warbie. Investigation into Falls Festival crowd crush concludes ... Nineteen people were hospitalised and seventy-six required first aid treatment after they were trampled and crushed in a crowd surge at the festival just before 10pm on December 30, 2016. It puts an end to the almost four-year long saga involving dozens of seriously injured punters who attended Falls Festival in Lorne. Instead, they were nearly killed in a horror human crush. ORIGINAL STORY: More than 60 people have been injured after a crowd crush at Falls Festival in Lorne last night. Dozens of festival revellers were injured in the crowd stampede between acts in 2016. He said the Falls Festival was one of the better organised festivals with health workers on site when the crush happened and few drug or alcohol related incidents at the festival. If you're attending a fest, look after each other. I woke up on the grass somewhere and realised my arm was paralysed,' she told The Feed in 2018. 'I am relieved that the matter is close to finalisation and we can finally begin to put the crowd crush behind us,' Ms Burke told ABC's Hack. A blocked-off entrance to the Grand Theatre, where the crush happened. Falls festival had 15 security guards stationed in the Grand Theatre at the time of the crush, paramedics on site and a medical bay 100 metres away. It did not foresee the crush. Nineteen people were taken to hospital with broken bones or other serious injuries and dozens more were hurt when a stampede broke out between acts in the Grand Theatre at the Falls Music and Arts Festival at Lorne on December 30. or debate this issue live on our message boards. Falls Festival in Lorne Victoria will not be shut down despite a terrifying crowd crush that injured up to 80 people and left music revellers covered in … Theatre at the Falls Festival in Lorne, Victoria at approximately 9:50pm on 30 December 2016 (Crowd Crush). A third of the most seriously injured victims will receive 'hundreds of thousands of dollars'. Nineteen people were taken to hospital with broken bones and other serious injuries after the incident at the Falls Music and Arts Festival at Lorne last night. 'Life changing': Falls Festival pays Lorne crowd crush victims almost $7 million in class action settlement The crush in 2016 injured and hospitalised dozens of punters at Falls Festival in Lorne. The crush happened as punters left the Grand Theatre, where the DMAs had been playing, on December 30 in 2016. Most recently she was a police reporter at the Geelong Advertiser. She later told SBS 'that she still feels 'jumpy' when there's oncoming traffic. A class-action lawsuit has just been filed against the organisers of Falls Festival today, following the horrific crowd crush that took place at the Lorne leg of the 2016/17 event, which left approximately 80 people injured – some very seriously. Tim Tobin, QC, who is acting for the festival-goers, pushed for the trial to be heard next month, despite the next available Supreme Court date believed to be as far away as March 2020. The Lorne crowd crush occurs just days after a 21-year-old woman was struck and killed by a falling tree branch at the Lost Paradise festival on the NSW Central Coast. or debate this issue live on our message boards. Lead plaintiff in the class action Michela Burke suffered nerve damage to her left arm when she was caught up in the stampede. Lead plaintiff of the class action Michela Burke (pictured) suffered nerve damage when she was injured in a crowd stampede at the Fall festival in Lorne in December 2016. Festival-goers have blamed “tiny” venue gates for causing a dangerous crowd crush which left at least 80 injured at Victoria’s Falls Festival. The dispute over what caused a stampede that injured 80 people at the festival in Lorne may stretch out to the second half of 2018, Melbourne's Supreme Court heard on Friday. But it is just money as well. Music fans were leaving Australian rock band DMAs' performance to see London Grammar on another stage when the overcrowded exit became congested. Justice Michael McDonald agreed and ordered the case proceed to a judge-only trial from mid-June. This photo was taken from the main stage (Valley Stage) and the white tent in the background is the tent stage (Grand Theatre). Sixty injured in Falls Festival crush A MELBOURNE student is still struggling with basic daily tasks after being caught in the crowd crush at Lorne’s Fall Festival on the New Year’s Eve weekend. News Victims Of 2016 Falls Festival Crowd Crush Awarded Multi-Million Dollar Class Action Payout Emmy Mack Sep. 15, 2020 Thinking that you're in a situation where you could die is the last thing on your mind.'. Falls Festival organisers have reached a settlement with six members of a multi-million dollar class action over a crowd crush at the event in 2016. 'You go to a festival thinking that you're going to have fun and feel safe. Seventy six people are part of a class action led by Maddens Lawyers, but only five have received medical reviews that deem their injuries "significant", allowing them to pursue their compensation claims. In December last year, Ash Sounds Pty Ltd, which runs Falls Festival, admitted their actions were to blame for the crowd crush, and admitted that the victims suffered injury, loss and damage due to their breach of duty. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. She said many injured revellers are still dealing with the incident 'in one way or another' almost four years on. The horror of the ‘human crush’ at the 2016 Falls Music Festival MADDY and Michaela planned a fun day out with friends. The popular event taking a hiatus this summer due to COVID-19 restrictions but has vowed to return bigger and better in 2021. Massive crowd of people moving between sets through the bottleneck before the railway underpass, some morons decided to just start pushing thinking it would move everyone through faster, managed to stay upright. The iconic festival is traditionally held across multiple days over the New Year period in Byron Bay, Lorne, Fremantle and Marion Bay. More than 500 were injured. He tried to break free but was trapped under bodies but he saw men and women being carried off unconscious. A blocked-off entrance to the Grand Theatre, where the crush happened.Credit:The Age. Persons fitting that description are called group members. International "physics of crowd movement" experts are being sought to determine how thousands of people became caught up in the crowd crush at last year's Falls Festival. Music fan Maddy (pictured) will be compensated for the physical and mental pain suffered. Falls Festival, Lorne, shows the tent in question, where the 'stampede' incident happened. Almost 80 music festival revellers trampled in a crowd crush four years ago will finally be compensated as part of a multi-million dollar class action settlement. Falls Festival crowd in Lorne, December 2016. Pictured are revellers crowd surfing at the Byron Bay event on New Year's Day 2016. 'A lot of people helped and people that were just at the festival helped and all the security were helping. We were leaving and everyone starting pushing and pushing,' Mr Moriarty told Daily Mail Australia at the time. Twenty-nine people were taken to hospital at the time, while Ambulance Victoria assessed 80 people at the festival. Maddy (surname withheld), who suffered severe bruising around her eyes and a fractured pelvis was also pleased about the settlement. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group, President and President-elect will go head-to-head in Georgia on Monday in desperate battle for control of the Senate as Trump slams Stacey Abrams' judge sister over voter ruling and insists runoff is 'illegal', 'I feel like I acted correctly': Blackwater contractor pardoned by Trump defends Baghdad killing of 14 civilians as he says he was lying in his cell bunk when he heard the news - but FBI agent who investigated case calls it a 'massacre', Trump-appointed federal judge throws out Republican Rep. 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It was just … Some even feared they would die, Maddens Lawyers senior principal Brendan Pendergast has previously said. In 2017, WorkSafe ruled that there was "insufficient evidence to prosecute" the event organiser and that "all the conditions imposed by various bodies in relation to the event, such as crowd control, crowd size, and positioning and size of exits, had been met". He sustained swelling to his knee and ankle in the stampede. 'We also want to assure the participants and all those who attend our events, that health and safety is our number one priority. 'The compensation payments will enable group members to look to, and plan for, the future. Falls Festival: sexual assaults, scores injured, 19 hospitalised after crowd crush People have been injured in a crowd crush incident at the Falls Music Festival. Festival organisers hope the the settlement will bring relief and closure for all those involved. The most important thing that I've been trying to focus on is my my own mental state... just working through those things mentally,' Maddy told Hack. There are at least seven people taking action against Ash Sounds, according to a statement of claim filed in April. Five Falls Festival attendees injured in a crowd crush at the 2016 music event will see their claims for up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation head to trial next month. There was a lot of blood.'. 'I remember being in a washing machine and someone trying to pull me out. When we got sent to the medical room there were heaps of people in there. The Falls Festival is a popular event with many music fans. Falls Festival agrees to pay $7million to 77 music fans who filed a class action after being crushed during a crowd stampede after a set by rock band DMA's Falls Festival … A directions hearing will be held in the Supreme Court on November 17, and is listed for a 10-15 day trial starting on June 12 next year. 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