Houston, TX — At last Thursday night’s performance of “Duo Garcia” at Circo Hermanos Vazquez in Houston, an acrobat was accidentally hurt. Authorities said that Vicky Garcia, an acrobat and performer in the “Duo Garcia” act, was hurt after she accidentally fell into the audience as she twirled through the air in a performance.
This was last Thursday night, May 28, 2015. According to the news reports, Vicky Garcia and her husband, Pablo Garcia, perform their daredevil acrobatic act at the Circo Hermanos Vazquez as part of a traveling show.
On Thursday night, Vicky Garcia was twirling through the air from a rocket ship on stage when one of her safety cords came loose and she fell to the audience below.
Vicky Garcia was hurt and had to be taken to a hospital, but she later returned to the circus that night as she was apparently in good condition.
The cause of the accident was unofficially said to be from a safety cord that wasn’t latched properly. This was said by the manager of the Circo Hermanos Vazquez, Lorena Vignaud.
Map of the Event Center
View from the Road
Commentary:
How would the law affect something like this? Well, there’s a clinical answer I can give that deals with workers’ comp, and there’s a more logical response. The clinical, legal answer is that since circus performers are employees (even if only contract employees) of the actual circus, then they are probably going to be subject to the laws of the state the company is based out of. For example, if the traveling circus was based in Oregon, but the accident happened in Texas, then it’s likely that Oregon law would apply regarding the worker’s rights to sue. However, I’ll warn that most employers are pretty well insulated from lawsuits because most states agree that when an employee signs a contract for work, they give up the right to sue in the event of an accident and they instead must use a “workers’ compensation” system of benefits. In instances of gross negligence (and a few other scenarios) these special rules don’t apply, but that’s a topic for another day.
The logical answer to how the law should address an accident like this is obvious, I hope. Workers should be able to hold their employers liable for accidents that happen “on the job,” even if the accident was ultimately caused by another co-worker. Why? Because employers get to enjoy all the benefits of having employees and making profits, so why do they get to defer all negligence allegations to a workers’ comp claim? Why don’t they just take responsibility for their actions and face the consequences.
If you’re reading this and nodding your head, “yes,” then you now know what countless other workers and accident victims know: the system isn’t exactly fair and heavily favors employer rights over employee rights.
I wish I could say there’s a quick and easy fix, but the best method is to determine what kind of claim you have, investigate it thoroughly, and make sure you understand your state’s labor laws in a comprehensive way.
— Grossman Law Offices
