Posted on 04/19/2018 2:02:32 PM PDT by Red Badger
Gavin Cox, from Kent, claims he suffered lasting brain and body injuries after falling over during the "Lucky #13" vanishing act.
Magician David Copperfield has been forced to reveal the secret of one of his signature tricks after being sued by an injured British audience member.
Gavin Cox, from Kent, claims he suffered lasting brain and body injuries after agreeing to take part in the "Lucky #13" illusion in 2013.
Mr Cox, who had previously cooked for the Royal Family, has not worked since he fell over while being led through a secret passageway at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The 57-year-old and 12 other volunteers were taking part in an illusion in which they appeared to vanish on stage, before re-emerging later at the back of the theatre.
Mr Cox claims he was injured when he was "hurried with no guidance or instruction through a dark area under construction, with cement dust and debris causing him to slip and fall".
The audience member was taken to hospital with a dislocated shoulder but claims he suffered chronic pain, headaches and confusion when he returned to the UK. Gavin Cox slipped during the performance at the MGM Grand hotel Image: Gavin Cox slipped during the performance at the MGM Grand
Mr Cox, who was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury and needed two fusion surgeries on his neck and shoulder, claims he has paid out more than $400,000 (£282,000) in medical expenses.
He is seeking unspecified damages in the lawsuit, which also names the MGM Grand, show producer Backstage Employment and Referral, and building firm Construction Management.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.sky.com ...
One thing the insurance companies don’t want you to know is that it is THEY who drag things out. David Copperfield and/or the venue is insured. The insurance company puts on his defense. David has no say-so as to whether or not they pay up or drag it out in court.
Interestingly, when or if the case goes to court, the jury is forbidden to know that it’s an insurance company defending the case.
It’s something to know if you’re ever on a jury in a civil litigation case. Say a kid in his third grade classroom is blinded by another kid flipping his pencil. The blinded kid’s parents sue the teacher and the school. The school and teacher are defended by their insurance company (either that or they’re self-insured which means they have a boat-load of money stashed just for situations like this).
It goes to trial. The jury only sees this lovely school teacher is being sued. She’s so nice and she’s a helper. They deny the blinded kid anything because hey, it was an accident, it wasn’t the teacher’s fault. Little do they know the school has insurance for this. I mean, come on, that’s what insurance is for. Accidents!
As my mama used to say, the insurance companies don’t build those big tall buildings because they’re giving all that money away.
I didn’t know about that at all.
It does change one’s perspective when you realize who is providing defense of the plaintiff, and their vested interest in doing so.
Amen - have known several folks who either suffered traumatic brain injuries from accidents, etc., or strokes - you can see in their eyes, from time to time, that they know something is amiss. Prayers up for the remaining 15% you mentioned earlier - being whole doesn’t necessarily entail being fully sane so you will fit in here perfectly....
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