The parents of Roxanne Ngo, a woman who died at HARD Summer 2016, is suing parent company Live Nation for allegedly overselling the event.
HARD Summer ended last year with three deaths due to acute MDMA toxicity and the family’s attorney, Lee Sherman, is arguing the tragedies could have been prevented with adequate preparations. Event organizers should have been more prepared for issues related to drug usage, the heat, and dehydration. Temperatures hit 90 degrees at the Fontana Speedway and not enough water was available at the event, making dehydration at the festival a dangerous problem. The lawsuit also claims that attendees were not kept safe with inadequate police, security, and medical services.
147,000 people were at the event and Sherman is arguing that Live Nation “put profits ahead of the safety of the HARD fest attendees including Roxanne Ngo,” in the lawsuit. Event organizers oversold the event with too many people being in an unsafe environment.
The families of 2014 and 2015 victims also sued Live Nation after losing a loved one at HARD Summer and the festival has been forced to switch venues several times. This year no deaths were reported at the festival and it seems that Live Nation is making effort to prevent tragedy and ensure they can continue hosting events.
