Abstract: On May 7, 2006, Employee #1 was working as a performer. He was a direct employee of his employer, which provided a live, pirate-theme dinner show to the general public at its own establishment. The stage used for the performance had the appearance of a ship, with a crow's nest elevated approximately nine feet above the stage floor. Employee #1 and at least one other performer performed staged, controlled falls as a regular part of the performance. During the performance on the day of the accident, Employee #1's foot became entangled in a stage prop, causing him to lose his balance and fall onto the crow's nest platform. His momentum carried him over the edge of the platform, and he fell from the crow's nest 18 feet into a pit in the ship's midsection, where a mat is staged for controlled fall landings. Due to the uncontrolled nature and timing of his fall, however, Employee #1 missed the mat and struck the wooden floor. He sustained a fractured rib, a partially collapsed right lung, and fractures of the transverse processes in the backbone. He was hospitalized.