The Artful Jurist

For those of you keeping score at home, the count of injured actors in Broadway's new mega-millions musical, Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark, is up to four -- and, technically, the show hasn't even opened yet.  Not since Macbeth has a stage show seemed this unlucky.  Mishaps during daring onstage stunts have resulted in at least one actress having a concussion and another actor undergoing surgery for broken ribs and internal bleeding, and the injuries suffered by four of the show's actors over the course of only one month of preview performances have caused Spider-man's producers to postpone the $65 million dollar musical's official opening night until at least February while the safety issues are worked out.

Yet to be worked out -- at least publicly -- are any remaining legal issues resulting from the injuries.  These are, after all, workplace injuries happening to employees while they're on the job.  Some of those may be worker's comp issues.  But there could also be claims related to unsafe work conditions should it be determined that the production's management created unjustifiably dangerous conditions.  According to reports, both New York and federal government safety officials are now keeping a closer watch on this show...and you can bet it's not to admire the costumes.