Wrongful-death suit filed after Walking Dead stuntman’s fall

ATLANTA— The mother of a stuntman who fell to his death on the set of The Walking Dead in Georgia has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the show’s network and other parties, saying unreasonably low budgets led to inadequate safety precautions.

John Bernecker, 33, died July 12 from injuries suffered in a fall on the set in Senoia, south of Atlanta.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday by Susan Bernecker says AMC Networks Inc. “orchestrated and enforced a pattern of filming and producing The Walking Dead cheaply and, ultimately, unsafely.” AMC pressured production company Stalwart Films to keep budgets and expenses unreasonably low, leading Stalwart to cut corners on safety measures, it says.

The lawsuit also names other companies associated with AMC and Stalwart Films, the director and stunt co-ordinator for the episode and actor Austin Amelio, who was shooting a scene with Bernecker on the balcony before the fall.

AMC said Wednesday, “We take the safety of our employees on all of our sets extremely seriously, and meet or exceed industry safety standards.”

Susan Bernecker said she hopes her son’s death will lead to improved safety standards for stunt performers in the film and TV industry.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration earlier this month cited Stalwart Films in Bernecker’s fatal fall. The agency proposed a fine of $12,675 (U.S.), the maximum allowable fine for a single serious violation, for “failure to provide adequate protection from fall hazards.”

In a statement after the citation was issued, Stalwart Films said it disagreed with the citation and called Bernecker’s fall “a tragic and terrible accident,” saying it meets or exceeds industry safety standards on its sets.