On-set deaths, injury reports renew focus on safety
ATLANTA — Two days after a stuntman working on “The Walking Dead” was seriously injured and declared brain-dead this month, a camera assistant filed a personal injury lawsuit accusing 20th Century Fox and others involved with the production of “Sleepy Hollow” of failing to take reasonable safety precautions.
Three days after that, a jury awarded $11.2 million in a wrongful death lawsuit filed in a deadly train wreck on the set of “Midnight Rider.”
This all happened weeks after a stuntman’s injury temporarily halted production of “Rampage,” an action movie starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and “Avengers” star Jeremy Renner revealed on Instagram he had injured his wrist and elbow on the set of the ensemble comedy “Tag.”
Whether the spate of incidents is just happenstance or indicates any kind of trend is hard to say. Either way, Georgia’s recent high-profile film-set incidents have renewed a focus on safety industrywide.
“The losses that we’ve recently experienced, it’s all too fresh right now for this not to be looked at,” said Angela Plasschaert, a prominent Los Angeles entertainment risk management expert who worked for years as a television and film producer. “There’s not enough consideration given to safety as an actual department.”
A search of Occupational Safety and Health Administration records from 1972, the first year records are electronically available, to the present shows only five film-industry enforcement reports in Georgia, including the one just launched into the “Walking Dead” fatality. All were from 2010 to the present.
Only the reports triggered by the deaths of John Bernecker, 33, on “The Walking Dead” and Sarah Jones, 27, on the “Midnight Rider” sets are about injuries. Two others list fines triggered by insufficient safety gear or practices, and one generated no fine.
A look at other states that have become filming destinations also found few OSHA enforcement reports. Two have been generated in Louisiana, including one from a 2011 fatality. A worker dismantling the set of “G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation” was operating a piece of heavy equipment called a scissor when the lift fell off a ramp, documents show. Michael Huber, 54, died from head injuries.
Three reports turn up from North Carolina, none involving injuries. In California, on the other hand, there were 13 reports, nine of which were accidents, in just the past year.
As of Jan. 1, 2015, production companies have been subject to stricter OSHA guidelines requiring any injury resulting in a hospitalization be reported.
It’s unclear how compliant filming crews have been.
A video clip posted to Johnson’s Instagram page on June 15 discussed injuries a stuntman suffered on the “Rampage” set.
“Dave Macomber got thrown from one side of this massive C-17 plane to the other. Overshot his crash pad and flew straight into the wall and knocked himself out,” Johnson wrote. “He doesn’t remember his last name, nor can he remember the name of his kids.”
That last sentence was facetious. Macomber appears in the video, mugging for the camera and cracking jokes while being tended to.
“Jokes aside, after this incident we shut down production and let our hard working crew go home,” Johnson continued. “I stayed here with Dave and our stunt coordinator … and eventually got Dave to the hospital. Brain is intact, CT scan was clear and Dave takes it easy for a week before jumping back in the saddle. A strong reflection of how our stunt brothers and sisters will always be the backbone of Hollywood. All my luv, gratitude and respect.”
A search of OSHA databases did not find a report of the injury.
A report titled “Safety on the Movie Set” by the American Industrial Hygiene Association, a national workers’ advocacy organization, details how things are ideally supposed to work: “While working on a production, there’s typically a full-time medic on set for workrelated injuries or illnesses. But any hazards or unsafe working conditions are supposed to be reported to the first assistant, individual department heads or the production manager.”
None of that is federally mandated, although Plasschaert said insurance companies that underwrite a production will want assurance that safety is paramount. Still, she said she has never left a filming set without having made some recommendation regarding safety practices.
“Everyone’s worried about getting their day, getting that shot,” she said. “There’s a certain amount of ‘bigger and better.’ We’ve been dealing with that since ‘Jaws’ came out.”
She worries people new to the industry may be wary of voicing safety concerns, fearful of hindering their careers. According to a Coweta County Sheriff’s Office report, assistant director Matthew Goodwin told authorities Bernecker had given a thumbs-up sign before the jump; actor Austin Amelio told officers that Bernecker “seemed a little nervous.”
“Where was that missing link where he didn’t feel confident going to the stunt coordinator” to relay concerns?” Plasschaert asked. “There may have been an opportunity for someone to say to that young man, ‘Are you all right?’ I’ve had directors demand change, demand stunts look another way. A lot of times they’ll wait until the stunt coordinator leaves the set.”
Plasschaert stressed she isn’t pointing fingers at anyone, but she urged a pause when appropriate to ensure safety: “Five minutes of everyone stopping and thinking versus going to a funeral.”
Bernecker was flown by medical helicopter to Atlanta Medical Center, where he was pronounced brain-dead July 12; his family released a statement two days later saying his organs had been donated. AMC released a statement of condolence, but the show’s publicist didn’t respond to a request for further comment.
Film industry tax credits enacted in 2008 have lured a growing stream of big- and small-screen projects, leading Georgia to nab honors as the world’s top destination for major motion picture filming in 2016. During fiscal year 2016, 245 feature films, television movies and series, commercials, and music videos were filmed here. The fiscal year 2017 number exceeds 300.
Gov. Nathan Deal, an ardent supporter of the tax credits, announced this month that a record $2.7 billion was spent in Georgia by film and television production companies in fiscal year 2017, up from $2 billion the year before; that’s more than 38 times what was spent here in 2007, according to state figures.
Attorney and legal analyst Philip A. Holloway won’t be surprised to see an increase in filmingrelated lawsuits.
“I have noticed an uptick in clients from the entertainment business,” he said the day after the “Midnight Rider” verdict was announced. “As Georgia’s film movie and TV industry continues to grow, there’s obviously going to be more of a market for this type of litigation. The verdict yesterday is certainly something plaintiffs’ lawyers will take notice of.”
Harris Lowry Manton, the firm that represented Sarah Jones’ parents, Richard and Elizabeth Jones, in that wrongful death suit, on July 14 filed a personal injury suit against 20th Century Fox Television and other defendants involved with the series “Sleepy Hollow.” Plaintiff Deborah Cottrill was working on a road she thought had been closed July 27, 2015, when the show was filming in Conyers and she was hit by a truck, the lawsuit says.
“Despite the fact that the cast and crew members were moving about, the ‘Sleepy Hollow’ defendants, or their agents, representatives, contractors, or employees, failed to take reasonable, minimum safety precautions,” the suit says. Cottrill’s leg and ankle were broken and her shoulder was injured, the suit says. She’s had multiple surgeries and procedures since then. 20th Century Fox Television didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Coincidentally, Cottrill had the same job as the late Jones did: second camera assistant.
She remains in recovery and wasn’t available for an interview.
Her attorney, Jeff Harris, spoke with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution the day after Savannah jurors awarded the $11.2 million judgment in the Jones case.
“I’m excited about the fact we’re getting all these movies in Georgia,” he said. “It’s great for the economy.”
But he urged a focus on safety amid all the action.
“You have these people working all kinds of hours,” Harris said. “Some of them are young, some of them are new to the industry. A movie set is like a big factory, except in a factory you have the same people doing the same jobs. A movie set is like taking a big factory that has things going on that are dangerous and moving it around and then doing things that might be dangerous, like blowing stuff up.”
Given Georgia’s booming film industry, he added, “I’m surprised there aren’t more accidents.”
Jennifer Brett writes for The Atlanta JournalConstitution. Email: jbrett@ajc.com. Staff writers Martha Michael and Jennifer Peebles and The Associated Press contributed to this article.