10 Vegas Massacre Survivors Sue Hotel and Concert Promoters

Mourners attend a vigil to mark one week since the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival, at the corner of Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard at the north end of the Las Vegas Strip, on Oct. 8, 2017 in Las Vegas. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Ten survivors of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history filed a lawsuit on Friday, Oct. 13, against the Mandalay Bay hotel and the promoters of the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival.

The survivors, two of whom were shot during the massacre, are claiming that both the promoter and the hotel were negligent, CBSLA reported. The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County. It is the first to have multiple victims.

“The promoters and the venue had the responsibility to inform people prior to the event how to get out,” said attorney Alexander Napolin.

The lawsuit seeks to collect money from the estate of the mass shooter, Stephen Paddock, MGM Resorts, Mandalay Bay, and Live Nation, the promoter that organized the three day Route 91 country music festival.

Bry Thompson, 21, of Las Vegas at a makeshift memorial set up across from the Las Vegas Village on Oct. 4, 2017, in Las Vegas. (David Becker/Getty Images)

Paddock hauled dozens of firearms to the 32nd floor room in Mandalay Bay hotel, pointed them at the crowd of the music festival below, and fired hundreds of rounds, killing 58 people and injuring over 500, according to Las Vegas Metro Police Department.

All of the plaintiffs are from the San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Though only two were wounded, all are claiming emotional wounds.

Plaintiffs Stephen Sambrano and his wife Amanda were caught in the gunfire.

“Just the sound of that was terrifying. Hearing what seemed like thousands of bullets raining everywhere,” Sambrano said to CBS2’s Randy Paige. “When we were ducking down you could see them ricocheting off of the asphalt you could see like the trash on the ground popping up. I mean you could see people scattering that were being trampled.”

Sambrano covered his wife to protect her and was shot in the lower torso. The bullet pierced his body and exited through his thigh.

A small group prays at a makeshift memorial with 58 white crosses, one for each victim, on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip, Oct. 6, 2017, in Las Vegas. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

The plaintiffs who weren’t hit by bullets have emotional wounds that will take a while to heal.

“Severe post-traumatic stress, they’re crying, they’re reliving the incident,” Napolin said, adding that more lawsuits will follow.

MGM Resorts spokeswoman Debra DeShong issued a written statement in response to the lawsuit.

“The tragic incident that took place on October 1st was a meticulously planned, evil senseless act. As our company and city work through the healing process, our primary focus and concern is taking actions to support the victims and their families, our guests and employees and cooperating with law enforcement. We are grateful for all who came to the victims’ aid that evening, including our employees, first responders, the police and citizens who acted in countless ways to assist. Out of respect for the victims we are not going to try this case in the public domain and we will give our response through the appropriate legal channels.”

Live Nation would not comment due to pending litigation but noted that it is cooperating with the investigation.

From NTD.tv