Cirque du Soleil acrobat sues circus for $16 million after breaking 11 bones in fall

Cirque du Soleil acrobat sues circus for $16 million after breaking 11 bones in fall ‘At first, we all thought it was part of the show,’ one spectator said, after the incident in Portland, Oregon - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments A former Cirque du Soleil acrobat is suing the world-famous circus for $16.75 million after breaking 11 bones in a fall, according to reports. Russian performer Mariia Konfektova fell 15 feet during one of the traveling circus’s Kooza performances in Portland, Oregon, in August 2024. Now, in a lawsuit filed Thursday and obtained by KGW, she is claiming that Cirque du Soleil failed to install safety mats, nets or fall protection underneath her. In the lawsuit, which was also seen by The Oregonian, she alleges that she was left with double vision and a concussion, as well as fractures to at least seven bones in her face. Konfektova says she also sustained fractures to her skull, wrist and lower back. “It just went into silence when she fell,” Benjamin Goldstein, who captured the August 24 fall at the Portland Expo Center on camera, told ABC’S Good Morning America in 2024. “At first, we all thought it was part of the show.” Brian Goldstein, Benjamin’s father, added: “The Cirque du Soleil response team just showed up on stage, and there was 10 to 12 of them on stage attending to her. So to see something like this is very surprising and very shocking.” In a statement shared with Fox 12 days after the fall, Cirque du Soleil confirmed that Konfektova had been injured during the 7 p.m. performance. “In accordance with our emergency procedures, we stopped the show briefly, and the artist was immediately assisted by the tour intervention team and transported to the hospital for examination,” the statement read. “The health and safety of our employees is always our top priority. “As always, in the case of an accident, the artist will continue to be monitored by the KOOZA medical and coaching team to determine when she can return to the show.” The Independent has contacted Cirque du Soleil for comment on the lawsuit. In a GoFundMe campaign launched to raise money for medical costs, Konfektova said she has been left with long-term complications and that she cannot fully return to work while needing surgery. “Unfortunately, ongoing medical, insurance, legal, and immigration complications have made my situation increasingly difficult,” she wrote. “My access to treatment remains uncertain, and I cannot fully return to my profession while my future surgeries are still ahead of me.” Konfektova’s fall occurred when she was trying to transition between movements on a hoop, according to a report by Oregon’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration obtained by KOIN. The acrobat fell to a floor made from a material that the report notes had “some ability to reduce the severity of the impact.” Cirque du Soleil was fined $8,070 for safety violations by OSHA, the report says. However, the circus appealed at least one of the citations in the OSHA inquiry, with a spokesperson for the agency telling The Oregonian that the appeal was still pending. Konfektova claims in the lawsuit that she had raised safety concerns to Cirque du Soleil. She says that she raised concerns about the winch in the circus’s rigging system used by her hoop and the weight of the hoop itself. However, the lawsuit alleges that the acrobat was eventually fired by Cirque du Soleil, with the firm raising concerns over her mental fitness to work. Konfektova often shares updates about her acrobatic career on Instagram. The artist was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records back in 2021, after she recorded 75 seated aerial hoop rotations in 30 seconds in Zhuhai, China. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments