Last year tragedy struck at the California music festival Lightning in a Bottle when 20 year old Baylee Gatlin died. Now, the family of Gatlin has sued The Do LaB – the organization behind the event – alleging that the festival did not have qualified medical personnel onsite.
On May 28, 2017, Baylee suffered a medical emergency on festival grounds and was rushed to the Twin Cities Community Hospital, where she later passed away. In a report from KSBY News, the lawsuit alleges that Baylee “did not receive medical attention for hours after she got sick from possible drug use.”
Her autopsy, performed by the sheriff’s former medical examiner Gary Walter (who is also named in the lawsuit), initially ruled her death as “acute LSD toxicity.” This ruling drew a whirlwind of skepticism and criticism from media and the medical community alike. Walter later changed the report, citing that she died from “multi-organ failure, hypothermia, and dehydration.”
“It’s just not logical or reasonable to conclude that she is the first of 30 million people who have safely taken LSD to have died (from that small amount). It’s not possible. There is something else. They did not analyze what they should have analyzed,” said Dr. David E. Nichols, a pharmacologist and medicinal chemist, in a quote to the San Luis Obispo Tribune last year.
Please, if you are attending any sort of music festival this summer, remember to look out for friends and strangers alike. Be sure to stay extremely hydrated, and don’t be afraid to seek medical attention for yourself or someone else.