[newopty]

Cirque du Soleil and MGM Grand cited in acrobat's death in Vegas - CNN.com

[irishspy]

I find it interesting since most people are not educated about the difference between fall protection and fall restraint. Fall protection is required for anyone who is off of the ground above 6 feet unless they are in a 3 point position such as on a ladder and working inside of the two side rails or have safety rated rails around them on a platform.
In this tragic accident many safety features were either by passed or not used. For example if the cable and the system used was inspected each time before their use it would have been caught that the cable had wear on it as well as the shrive. This is called hoist inspection. It also appears the brake system was not working or the lower limit switch was not set correct because the cable should not have run out to over 90 ft it could have been set to stop long before she hit the floor.

I do not have the full report from OSHA but a $25,000 fine from them is quite severe but the appeal process will allow the fine to be lowered to mere hundreds same way with MGM. OSHA is the bare minimum for safety contrary to what most folks think and it is up to your employer to go over and beyond to ensure a safe work place for their employees. Too bad this tragedy could have been avoided and the next one that will happen because many other shows are also not doing the right thing.

[ddrhazy]

I'm sure the civil suit will be much higher.

[lvoc]

Originally Posted by irishspy

I find it interesting since most people are not educated about the difference between fall protection and fall restraint. Fall protection is required for anyone who is off of the ground above 6 feet unless they are in a 3 point position such as on a ladder and working inside of the two side rails or have safety rated rails around them on a platform.
In this tragic accident many safety features were either by passed or not used. For example if the cable and the system used was inspected each time before their use it would have been caught that the cable had wear on it as well as the shrive. This is called hoist inspection. It also appears the brake system was not working or the lower limit switch was not set correct because the cable should not have run out to over 90 ft it could have been set to stop long before she hit the floor.

I do not have the full report from OSHA but a $25,000 fine from them is quite severe but the appeal process will allow the fine to be lowered to mere hundreds same way with MGM. OSHA is the bare minimum for safety contrary to what most folks think and it is up to your employer to go over and beyond to ensure a safe work place for their employees. Too bad this tragedy could have been avoided and the next one that will happen because many other shows are also not doing the right thing.

I believe the wire rope came off its pulley and broke against a hard edge. Upward velocity played a par

So she free fell.

I wonder if a double line is possible.

[delgadobb]

It sounds like both MGM & Cirque are going to appeal; give their respective annual budgets I'm sure they'd just pay the fines if it were that simple. The money is a drop in the bucket for them ...

However, if they pay the fines they're validating they were at fault (or at least make it nebulous) & open the door for huge civil lawsuits. As a result, I'm sure this will drag out for some time ...

Truly unfortunate for the performer & any family/friends.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by delgadobb

It sounds like both MGM & Cirque are going to appeal; give their respective annual budgets I'm sure they'd just pay the fines if it were that simple. The money is a drop in the bucket for them ...

However, if they pay the fines they're validating they were at fault (or at least make it nebulous) & open the door for huge civil lawsuits. As a result, I'm sure this will drag out for some time ...

Truly unfortunate for the performer & any family/friends.

If workers' compensation plays into this, then civil lawsuits may or may not happen, unless there's gross negligence or some third party liability involved.

[NLVgal]

Cirque is having a couple of rough years. First one dancer killed another and now this. From what I understand from an acquaintance whose wife works for Cirque, they are a very good company to work for and everyone is very close-knit.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by observer53

If workers' compensation plays into this, then civil lawsuits may or may not happen, unless there's gross negligence or some third party liability involved.

You are correct to a point. His immediate employer will pretty much be immune from a lawsuit.

However, the devil is in the details. They will probably end up suing the casino and/or third-party contracts.

A bunch of lawyers will get together and bring it to some resolution. These cases are always very interesting and take years to resolve.

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by NLVgal

Cirque is having a couple of rough years. First one dancer killed another and now this. From what I understand from an acquaintance whose wife works for Cirque, they are a very good company to work for and everyone is very close-knit.

Close knit? Sure.

But what does that matter? They didn't perform basic maintenance and routine checks on life support equipment. All the "good feelings" in the world don't make up for that. And one of their own is dead.

If all of them were SCUBA divers instead of acrobats, do you think they would damned sure their gear was 100% checked out prior to a "show?"

[NLVgal]

Originally Posted by ScoopLV

Close knit? Sure.

But what does that matter? They didn't perform basic maintenance and routine checks on life support equipment. All the "good feelings" in the world don't make up for that. And one of their own is dead.

If all of them were SCUBA divers instead of acrobats, do you think they would damned sure their gear was 100% checked out prior to a "show?"

It wasn't really so much an equipment failure as a training issue, from what I've read. Either way, it's a damn tragedy. As far as SCUBA goes, there is generally redundancy in equipment, and a buddy system, and I believe that may be the big problem here. You can't rely on one piece of equipment alone in a life or death situation. Sh1t breaks.