Parents of man who died at EDC sue Live Nation and Insomniac for negligence
Alleging there was an empty medical tent
The event production companies behind Electric Daisy Carnival are being sued by the parents of the 24-year-old man who died at the festival in 2015, claiming the emergency medical team was to slow to act leading up to his death.
On June 21, 2015 a UC Irvine graduate named Nicholas Austin Tom died from intoxication of MDMA, as reported by the Clark County coroner’s office. The parents of the deceased have now issued a lawsuit against Insomniac Holdings and Live Nation Entertainment, alleging that the companies were negligent in supplying the proper medical resources and provided poorly trained staff to handle emergencies.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the lawsuit states that Tom had a seizure and collapsed after he ingested ecstasy. Fellow attendees allegedly attempted to carry him as they yelled for medical assistance, but were restricted by the large crowd and loud music.
Tom’s parents claim that it took 30 minutes for fellow festival patrons to carry their son to the medical tent and when they got there, the tent was reportedly empty. The lawsuit further states that Tom was left on the floor for another 30 minutes, where he died on site.
News reports at the time claimed there were 1,400 medical calls during the festival and more than two dozen people were taken to the hospital at the 2015 event held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
After Tom’s death, an Insomniac spokeswoman made a statement with regards to drug activity at music festivals: “Participating in illicit drug behavior can have tragic consequences and we hold a strict zero tolerance policy for illegal activity while continually educating our fans on the dangers of drug use.”