We have talked numerous times in this blog about the fact that it does not matter what your job is, your employer has a responsibility to protect your physical well-being. This means that individuals who work in one of Colorado’s many office parks have safe entrances, stairwells and elevators, but it also means that the people in some of the most risky positions, like police or firefighters, are protected against harm, too. And this includes performers who travel through the state.
Sadly, there are some employers who fail in this responsibility. Whether they are ignorant of all the risks or they are ambivalent about their workers’ safety, there are numerous work-related deaths in Colorado every year. Though the recent death of a Cirque du Soleil acrobat was not in Colorado, the touring circus troupe has been in Denver in years past and the accident easily could have happened on Colorado soil.
The reason why this unfortunate tragedy could have happened anywhere is that the acrobats who work with the world-renowned circus troupe rarely if ever use safety equipment. Whether this is their choice or the circus’s remains to be seen.
Unfortunately, this most recent of accidents has not been the first (and it likely will not be the last) to hit the Cirque. There have been several acrobats who have fallen in shows and in practice, injuring themselves quite severely. When these kinds of accidents do happen in Colorado, the performers could likely consult a workers’ compensation lawyer for help in applying for workers’ compensation benefits.
Source: Los Angeles Times, “Cirque du Soleil mishaps are infrequent but not unheard of,” David Ng, July 1, 2013
