SCV firm comments on $800M settlement in Route 91 shooting

Route 91 Shooting survivor Brittany Maldonado signs a Vegas Stronger banner just outside of the venue on the first anniversary of the October 1st shooting in Las Vegas. Cory Rubin/The Signal
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A day before the third anniversary of the Route 91 shooting on the Las Vegas strip, an $800 million settlement from MGM Resorts International and their insurers was announced for more than 4,000 victims and their families.

Susan Owen, the managing partner at OPO Law Firm in Valencia, said the firm represented more than 100 clients in the suit, which involved some of the victims from the Santa Clarita Valley.

“I am hoping that this provides some significance to the victims and will provide some closure for them,” Owen said over a phone call with The Signal on Thursday. “While (MGM Resorts International) did not admit liability, they agreed to pay that amount — keeping in mind that the majority of those funds are coming from insurance, and then a small portion is coming from MGM directly.”

The shooting, which occurred on Oct. 1, 2017, left 58 people dead and injured more than 850 people at the open-air concert.

The shooter, Stephen Paddock, 64, fired upon the crowd below for 10 minutes from the Mandalay Bay hotel room he rented before killing himself.

“I have very close friends who were at the Route 91 Harvest Festival, so of course I was involved immediately,” said Owen. “This is a total settlement involving all of the defendants who were originally named … this is the end of the road.”

The settlement, Owen said, may be able to bring at least some closure for the victims, but she also is aware that post-traumatic stress disorder lasts forever for those involved and the families of those who died.

“This was a heartbreaking event, and the experience that I had with our clients changed me forever, and will no doubt have changed them forever,” said Owen. “And I hope this brings further awareness that mental and emotional injuries can be significant.”

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