$52.5M Settlement Reached For Circus Acrobats Injured After Rigging Collapse

The eight acrobats injured in a fall that sent them hurtling to the Dunkin’ Donuts Center floor in 2014 have reached a $52.5-million settlement with the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority and the company that manages the center.

“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 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.