Photo courtesy of The Daily Mail.
Summary: David Copperfield will not have to pay a British tourist’s six-figure medical bills.
This week, a jury ruled that David Copperfield was not liable for the medical bills of a tourist. The British man said he was injured during one of the magician’s famed illusions, but a jury found Copperfield negligent but not responsible for any damages, according to NPR.
The British man, Gavin Cox, said that in 2013 he attended a Copperfield show in Las Vegas, and he was randomly chosen to participate in the act, Lucky 13. In that trick, 13 audience members are chosen from the crowd. They then stand on the stage together before being covered by a tarp. Once the tarp is removed, the 13 guests have magically disappeared.
Cox said that he was injured when he was asked to rush from point A to point B, and he said that his medical bills totaled to almost $400,000. Copperfield said that he had never heard about the injury until the lawsuit, and he fought in court to not pay.
While Copperfield has been found not liable for Cox’s injury, the lawsuit was still a blow for the magician because the trick was exposed in court. Copperfield had asked that the proceedings be sealed, but the judge ruled against that. During the trial, Copperfield was forced to admit how Lucky 13 worked, and his testimony was caught on tape.
Lucky 13 was surprisingly very simple to perform. Copperfield threw 13 balls out into the crowd, and whoever caught them got to be a part of the trick. They then stood on the stage in a cage and when they were covered from the crowd, they were whisked outside.
“Cox was among 12 other volunteers who seemed to disappear from Copperfield’s elevated stage, when in reality they were whisked off the platform by flashlight-wielding stagehands,” the Las Vegas Review-Journal stated.
Cox said that there was debris on the ground and that the area was dark, and he said that he fell and suffered brain injuries. On Tuesday, a jury said that Copperfield was not responsible for his medical bills.
Cox sued Copperfield, MGM Casino where he performs his show, two Copperfield entities, and the construction company that created the dust.
Cox was represented by attorney Benedict Morelli who said that Lucky 13 was inherently dangerous.
“If they didn’t set it up this way, it couldn’t happen,” Morelli said to Las Vegas Review-Journal. “It really is preposterous to think you could set this up and no one would get injured.”
Copperfield was represented by attorney Elaine Fresch.
The magician said that he has not performed Lucky 13 since 2015.
- David Copperfield Forced to Reveal Secrets of Lucky 13
- British Tourist Seeks to Expose David Copperfield in Court