Copperfield Trick No Treat for Injured Assistant

Crew member for illusionist's Las Vegas show undergoes surgery to treat a broken arm and facial lacerations after trick goes awry

David Copperfield's got some serious fan issues, just not the same kind as Lindsay Lohan.

A technician working on the illusionist's Las Vegas revue has been hospitalized after suffering a severe, show-stopping injury Wednesday night while operating an industrial fan onstage.

The man, identified only as a twentysomething crew member named Brandon, was rotating a 12-foot industrial fan and its platform. Before Copperfield could commence the trick—a mainstay of An Intimate Evening of Grand Illusion in which he walks through the apparatus and appears to turn into smoke—things went haywire.

Brandon's arm got caught and his body was pulled into the spinning blades, lacerating his face and breaking his arm in multiple places.

The curtain was immediately drawn and the technician rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery.

"Many people assume that the death-defying illusions I do onstage are not dangerous," Copperfield said. "This unfortunate accident shows that couldn't be further from the truth, and we're just thankful Brandon's injuries weren't worse."

To show just how thankful he was, Copperfield paid a conciliatory (and possibly litigation-dissuading) visit to Brandon to give him what every post-op patient most hopes for: a children's magic set.

No performances were canceled as a result of the incident.