Eight acrobats reach $52.5 million settlement in 2014 Rhode Island circus stunt collapse

Katie Mulvaney, The Providence Journal
·2 min read
Circus acrobats Julissa Segrera, second from left, of the United States, and Dayana Costa, right, of Brazil, are tearful as Costa reads a statement to the media at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston on June 17, 2014.
Circus acrobats Julissa Segrera, second from left, of the United States, and Dayana Costa, right, of Brazil, are tearful as Costa reads a statement to the media at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston on June 17, 2014.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The eight acrobats injured in a fall that sent them hurtling to the floor of the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island, have reached a $52.5 million settlement with the company that manages the center and the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority.

“It’s fair to say that there are catastrophic injuries to almost all of them,” said Zachary M. Mandell, who is the lead lawyer representing the acrobats. He declined to be more specific about the aerialists' condition, other than to say that some of the women have been left unable to work.

The settlement was mediated and came after 20 experts were deposed, Mandell said. The settlement will be paid by insurers, he said.

Superior Court Judge Brian Van Couyghen presided over the case.

The acrobats sued SMG, the Pennsylvania-based company that oversees the center, and RICCA, which owns the center, in 2016 for their roles in the fall.

According to the lawsuit, SMG agreed to manage all events and maintain safety inside the center under a contract signed in 2010. SMG arranged with Feld Entertainment Inc., the parent company of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, to bring the circus to Providence in April and May, 2014.

The agreement with Feld specified that the center would ensure a safe venue and that SMG would be responsible for installing electrical feeds, cables, rigging and other equipment. SMG agreed to promote the event and split the profits with the circus.

During the performance of the Medeiros Hair Hang Act on May 4, 2014, the rigging suspending the women more than 20 feet in the air failed and the acrobats plunged to the ground as spectators watched. The aerialists had been dangling from a metal frame by their pony-tailed tresses, forming a “human lotus blossom,” when the rigging snapped.

An injured female circus performer waves to the crowd as she is taken from the ring on a stretcher following a fall during a performance in 2014 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence.
An injured female circus performer waves to the crowd as she is taken from the ring on a stretcher following a fall during a performance in 2014 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence.

The acrobats suffered broken bones and internal injuries. Two had severe spinal injuries and remained unable to walk a year later.

Federal safety investigators determined that the riggers had improperly loaded the frame’s support cables onto the carabiner, creating three stress points on the device instead of the proper two stress points. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Feld for a “serious” infraction of industry practice and imposed the maximum possible fine, $7,000.

SMG is now suing Feld, alleging that it breached contractual duty to defend and indemnify the company for incidents that arise from Feld’s own negligence. It is asking that Feld be found legally and financially responsible for the fall.

Follow reporter Katie Mulvaney on Twitter: @kmulvane

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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Acrobats reach settlement in 2014 Providence circus stunt collapse