WorkSafe Victoria clears Falls Fest: "Insufficient evidence to prosecute"

After an eleven month investigation into a stampede at Falls Festival Lorne, WorkSafe Victoria announced that promoters could not be held liable and no further action would be taken.

It said in a statement, “Following a comprehensive investigation, WorkSafe has determined there is insufficient evidence to prosecute event organiser Ash Sounds Pty Ltd in relation to an incident at the company’s Falls Music and Arts Festival in Lorne last year.

“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.

“WorkSafe’s investigation revealed 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.

“As a result, WorkSafe found there was insufficient evidence to establish any offence under the 2004 OHS Act and no further action will be taken.”

The Lorne event promoter has declined to make a comment.

It seems that the class action initiated by Maddens Lawyers on behalf of over 75 patrons, could be continuing.

The firm, based in Warrnambool in regional Victoria, had not made any comment on its website this morning.

A directions hearing is scheduled for early 2018. About 500 documents of evidence have been exchanged between the lawyers for the two parties so far.

The crush began about 9.47pm on December 30, as patrons began leaving the Grand Theatre through two exits after the DMA’s finished their set.

According to witnesses, there were bottlenecks at the exits and some lost their footing on gravel.

In December 2016, while calling for patrons to join in the class action, the firm’s Brendan Pendergast asserted that  the stampede could have been avoided “if proper care and attention had been taken to configuring the area where the acts were taking place” and also put the blame on “the scheduling of the successive acts.”