Performers warned about Las Vegas Cirque du Soleil act before paralyzing accident: lawsuit

David Charns
Fri, April 19, 2024 

Performers warned about Las Vegas Cirque du Soleil act before paralyzing accident: lawsuit


LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A former Cirque du Soleil performer left paralyzed in an accident during the company’s “O” show claims the act where he nearly died was rushed into production, according to a lawsuit the 8 News Now Investigators reviewed.

Kyle Mitrione, a former diver in the show, filed the lawsuit Thursday, accusing Cirque du Soleil of placing him in “harm’s way” during a performance at the Bellagio Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. The show, which celebrated its 25th anniversary last fall, features a 1.5-million-gallon pool and 85 performers, some who dive from heights of 60 feet, the lawsuit said.

On June 28, 2023, Mitrione, who was 35 at the time, was part of a new act called “The Island,” which involved a floating stage, the lawsuit said. During the act, performers dive into the pool while lifts move a platform. The staging was different than previous acts, the lawsuit said.

During the act, Mitrione dove backward headfirst from the platform, which was out of position, striking a lift, the lawsuit said. The collision left him with “permanent, debilitating, catastrophic and life-altering injuries.”

Specifically, the Island act “required performers to dive into the pool while the lifts were being utilized… in the vicinity of the diving performers,” the lawsuit said. “To do so, choreographers would coordinate and sequence the movement of the floating stage with the underwater technicians and divers, in order to prevent a diver from inadvertently striking the lifts.”

Stage technicians both above and below the water relied on verbal, lighting or sound cues to move the equipment while performers, like Mitrione, relied “solely upon musical cues,” documents said.

According to the lawsuit, the Island act started about two weeks before the June 2023 incident involving Mitrione. During that time, “there were numerous instances and concerns of divers striking and/or nearly striking the lifts as a result of the show’s choreography being out of sync,” the lawsuit said. Six days before Mitrione’s incident, another diver suffered a “near miss.”

“There were no other audio and/or technical cues to advise the diving performers if it was safe to perform their respective dives,” the lawsuit said. “Thus, if the stage and underwater technicians fail to properly maneuver the ‘Island’ stage, diving performers, such as [Mitrione], are not informed of the possibility for catastrophic failure and inadvertently diving into the lifts.”


A photo from Cirque du Soleil celebrating the show’s then-24th anniversary. (Cirque du Soleil)

After the incident, paramedics rushed Mitrione to the hospital where he underwent emergency surgery, the lawsuit said. Mitrione was left with neck and spinal fractures, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Cirque more than $30,000 after the incident, records said. The company was contesting the fine as of Friday.

The lawsuit seeks damages in excess of $50,000, including the cost of medical care and punitive damages.

Representatives for Mitrione nor Cirque immediately responded to requests for comment Friday.