Live Nation to Face Lawsuit Over Teen’s Fatal 2015 Drug Overdose at HARD Summer
Live Nation Entertainment is facing a renewed lawsuit filed by the family of Katie Dix, a young woman who died following a fatal drug overdose at the 2015 edition of HARD Summer. In a new ruling, Superior Court of Los Angeles County Judge Dan Thomas Oki said a company like Live Nation that plans and operates large music festivals “owes a duty of reasonable care to festival attendees.”
According to a report by Pitchfork, who reviewed the case’s legal documents, Oki ruled that Live Nation must now face the suit, which was initially filed back in 2016. The family of Dix, who was 19 years of age at the time of her death, is suing on the grounds that Live Nation demonstrated negligence and breached their duties to protect her from the distribution and ingestion of illegal drugs.
Dix died after consuming a fatal combination of MDMA and Ethylone, a drug more commonly known as bath salts. According to a report by Bloomberg Law, witnesses said that HARD Summer’s security guards didn’t seem to know how to react after she collapsed and did not offer any aid until medical professionals arrived, which took around 20 minutes.
In addition to Dix, Tracy Nguyen, 18, also died of a drug overdose after attending the festival, which took place on August 1st, 2015 at the Fairplex in Pomona.
Sources: Pitchfork, Bloomberg Law