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Friday, September 13, 2019
‘Resident Evil’ Stuntwoman Files Suit Over Motorcycle Crash
Variety: A stuntwoman who suffered severe injuries on the set of “Resident Evil: The Final Chapter” in 2015 has filed a lawsuit alleging that the film’s producers reneged on a promise to cover her medical costs.
11 comments:
Alexa Janoschka
said...
Depending on the salary and contract, if a stunt performer is injured on set because of the error of another crew or staff member their medical bills should be covered by the person (or company) that caused the accident. The stunt performer is hired knowing that they can get injured (or die) but to some extent, people have to be responsible for their role in accidents such as this one. In the case of the producer telling the husband that the medical bills would be covered, if it wasn't within a contract I don't see why they would legally be obligated to pay for the bills. At the same time, the money did make a lot of money and if the company is still benefiting from the profit of the movie than maybe the director and writer should be held accountable to pay for the accident. Also because of this accident, she is out of her job and doesn't have a stable way to make money. She has trained to be a stunt woman but now she can't because of this accident. If the rig really was the reason why she crashed (and not her own error) the company should have to pay for her medical bills.
This is a highly unfortunate situation for Olivia Jackson. I truly feel that the company, Impact Pictures, should pay for her medical costs and surgeries. With how much money this film has made since released, it seems to me very selfish and, honestly, quite cold to not offer to pay for the costs. Sure, stunt people know what they are getting in to when they are working. Accidents can and do happen. however, to not help, and to turn back on a verbal promise is outright disgusting and shows a lot about the character of these individuals. I wonder how this case will go because to me, the promise Jeremy Bolt made of the production to cover the costs makes it a verbal contract. I feel that they may hit some walls because of the costs covering what could be considered a debt for Jackson (verbal contracts are not binding in the case of covering debts.) Either way, I feel the company is liable and needs to own up to their mistake and part in the accident.
This is a classic example of producers trying to get things on the cheap. It also raises the question as to why U.S. Law does not force a production company to carry a higher level of insurance during filming of movies with dangerous stunts. If it were true as alleged that the camera rig did not clear in time causing the accident, then yes, the production company and producers are liable for the damages. It is extremely unfair to this talented artists (whose career is now over essentially) to have to be put through this ordeal because of the greed of the producers. Also, this could have been avoided had the necessary safe guards been in place, but again it comes down to greed. The producers have tight control of the budget and timeline for filming and they tend to ignore safety protocol, especially when filming outside of the U.S. and tend to have a lack of care for the safety of the cast and crew. It is shameful that it had to come down to a lawsuit. The producers should have just kept their promise. People over profits.
Reading about this incident is deeply disturbing. Stunt performers deserve so much recognition for putting their lives on the line for their art. There is not even a formal award or recognition for their work. This particular incident is particularly egregious and the people responsible for the incident should be held accountable and should probably never be allowed to work on a picture like this again. The price the actor paid for this performance is life-altering, which is a risk they assume, but are ultimately at the mercy of professionals who are hired and supposedly experienced in keeping people safe. The fact that this suit exists and there was no swift and thorough support for the victim's injuries is also incredibly irresponsible. This incident ended her career and she had to fight to receive some form of compensation for medical expenses. Nothing, however, can replace the lost limb and lost potential this incident left her with.
Wow! I can’t believe that the production team of Resident Evil refuses to give Olivia Jackson money to cover medical expenses from her motorcycle crash after they promised they would. This poor woman, not only does she have to go through the stress of this accident and losing an arm, but she has to go through the stress of not being able to pay her medical bills. I hope that Olivia’s lawyer is able to help her get the money she deserves. Apparently she was riding a motorcycle as a stunt woman for a scene in the movie and she drove into a camera rig that was supposed to be flying over her head but it didn’t move in time. This situation is especially frustrating because they made millions off this movie and get they are refusing to help Olivia. According to the article, it could take years before the lawsuit goes through.
This is a horrible situation; ideally, no one would ever be injured working on a movie. Reading the article, I was surprised that Workers Comp was not given to Olivia Jackson as she was injured while working. I don’t know if South Africa has a Worker Comp program or if an international employee would qualify. I also wonder if South Africa has more lenient insurance requirements for movies and if that was why the location was chosen. If so, this case might lead to stricter requirements there and maybe a way for the United States to monitor and ensure that companies get proper insurance. Since Jackson needs the money for medical procedures now and the trail will take years before Jackson could be awarded any money if she wins, I wonder if the lawsuit will be fast enough for her. Hopefully there is a way to get enough money for her medical procedures quickly and some compensation for her injury and loss of career.
First of all, the production should have had liability insurance. In a film with action scenes that require stunts and stunt doubles, there should be insurance in case of accidents like this. Not only was this stunt person in a coma for seventeen days, but she suffered brain hemorrhaging, spinal fracturing, and amputation. Her life will never be the same, and she isn’t receiving the care she needs. In addition, as per her contract on the film, she should receive due compensation for the surgeries she needs to get as a result of this accident that happened on location. As mentioned in the article, the film grossed over $330 million worldwide, and the producers of the film as well as the production company likely profited more than what the surgeries would cost for this stunt woman, yet they won’t help her financially. She can’t afford these surgeries. And the production company wont way. Not only is this breaking the contract, this is also just heartless, selfish, and inhumane.
This is such a shitty situation. When a stunt person goes in for work they understand that injuries can happen. That’s why the train to make sure they do stunts safe. In this instance it seems that she was doing what she was supposed to and the camera crew was not operating with her. This caused her to run into a camera. Because of this she was in coma for days. I believe that she should be suing the film. It’s so messed up that they said they would pay for her medical treatment (this should be a given) and then not do it. the film company should always have the stunts persons back. Her life is drastically different because of this injury. She no longer works doing stunts and had to have an arm amputated. Overall this is a very shitty situation and I hope she is able to get her medical bills paid for.
This is such an extremely unfortunate situation. Jackson was imply doing her job when another piece of the production failed. This wasn’t even her fault whatsoever.The amount of injuries that she received is really an unbelievable amount, but what’s even worse is that the production had insufficient insurance. Film is definitely an expensive industry, but costs need to be cut in order to pay for important things like insurance for your stunt doubles. This should have never happened in the first place, but the measures should have been in place to cover the costs of her injuries. Her surgery is said to be around $1 million dollars, and in the meantime she cannot work on other movies. Also, the fact that this movie grossed $338 million is truly ridiculous. They should be paying for every penny of Jackson’s medical bills, seeing that this was completely not her fault and she was doing her job exactly as rehearsed. This is a really sad situation and I really hope she gets the money that she deserves from this lawsuit.
This is absolutely appalling. The production company needs to pay. I don't care who's fault it was, but if an employee of yours suffers injuries because of something you asked them to do, they should be completely covered in their medicals costs and at least a portion of lost wages. Resident Evil has plenty of money to cover this and should definitely resolve this before it starts becoming front page news. Also, I think we, as an industry, have too much faith in each of our other departments. Just because someone does a particular thing well, lighting, automation, camera work, etc., does not mean that they are always an expert and are knowledgable about what your group does! I've seen it happen many times where I thought a camera knew we were flying something in and out on stage and then fly their camera in that path. We all need to be a lot more careful about how we communicate with one another making sure we are clear about expectations from all departments, focusing on critical moves that must happen before another can occur.
Stunt doubles are some of the least cared for individuals in film. What they do is so difficult and physically demanding and downright scary and dangerous. The production company's refusal to pay in full for all injuries shows the depth to which stunt doubles need better care. They are brave enough to do things that actors aren't trained for but when they are injured, which happens more frequently than it should, they are not taken care of like the actors would be. The media is wrought with stories of stunt double issues that have gone wrong and it needs to be remedied.
11 comments:
Depending on the salary and contract, if a stunt performer is injured on set because of the error of another crew or staff member their medical bills should be covered by the person (or company) that caused the accident. The stunt performer is hired knowing that they can get injured (or die) but to some extent, people have to be responsible for their role in accidents such as this one. In the case of the producer telling the husband that the medical bills would be covered, if it wasn't within a contract I don't see why they would legally be obligated to pay for the bills. At the same time, the money did make a lot of money and if the company is still benefiting from the profit of the movie than maybe the director and writer should be held accountable to pay for the accident. Also because of this accident, she is out of her job and doesn't have a stable way to make money. She has trained to be a stunt woman but now she can't because of this accident. If the rig really was the reason why she crashed (and not her own error) the company should have to pay for her medical bills.
This is a highly unfortunate situation for Olivia Jackson. I truly feel that the company, Impact Pictures, should pay for her medical costs and surgeries. With how much money this film has made since released, it seems to me very selfish and, honestly, quite cold to not offer to pay for the costs. Sure, stunt people know what they are getting in to when they are working. Accidents can and do happen. however, to not help, and to turn back on a verbal promise is outright disgusting and shows a lot about the character of these individuals.
I wonder how this case will go because to me, the promise Jeremy Bolt made of the production to cover the costs makes it a verbal contract. I feel that they may hit some walls because of the costs covering what could be considered a debt for Jackson (verbal contracts are not binding in the case of covering debts.)
Either way, I feel the company is liable and needs to own up to their mistake and part in the accident.
This is a classic example of producers trying to get things on the cheap. It also raises the question as to why U.S. Law does not force a production company to carry a higher level of insurance during filming of movies with dangerous stunts. If it were true as alleged that the camera rig did not clear in time causing the accident, then yes, the production company and producers are liable for the damages. It is extremely unfair to this talented artists (whose career is now over essentially) to have to be put through this ordeal because of the greed of the producers. Also, this could have been avoided had the necessary safe guards been in place, but again it comes down to greed. The producers have tight control of the budget and timeline for filming and they tend to ignore safety protocol, especially when filming outside of the U.S. and tend to have a lack of care for the safety of the cast and crew. It is shameful that it had to come down to a lawsuit. The producers should have just kept their promise. People over profits.
Reading about this incident is deeply disturbing. Stunt performers deserve so much recognition for putting their lives on the line for their art. There is not even a formal award or recognition for their work. This particular incident is particularly egregious and the people responsible for the incident should be held accountable and should probably never be allowed to work on a picture like this again. The price the actor paid for this performance is life-altering, which is a risk they assume, but are ultimately at the mercy of professionals who are hired and supposedly experienced in keeping people safe. The fact that this suit exists and there was no swift and thorough support for the victim's injuries is also incredibly irresponsible. This incident ended her career and she had to fight to receive some form of compensation for medical expenses. Nothing, however, can replace the lost limb and lost potential this incident left her with.
Wow! I can’t believe that the production team of Resident Evil refuses to give Olivia Jackson money to cover medical expenses from her motorcycle crash after they promised they would. This poor woman, not only does she have to go through the stress of this accident and losing an arm, but she has to go through the stress of not being able to pay her medical bills. I hope that Olivia’s lawyer is able to help her get the money she deserves. Apparently she was riding a motorcycle as a stunt woman for a scene in the movie and she drove into a camera rig that was supposed to be flying over her head but it didn’t move in time. This situation is especially frustrating because they made millions off this movie and get they are refusing to help Olivia. According to the article, it could take years before the lawsuit goes through.
This is a horrible situation; ideally, no one would ever be injured working on a movie. Reading the article, I was surprised that Workers Comp was not given to Olivia Jackson as she was injured while working. I don’t know if South Africa has a Worker Comp program or if an international employee would qualify. I also wonder if South Africa has more lenient insurance requirements for movies and if that was why the location was chosen. If so, this case might lead to stricter requirements there and maybe a way for the United States to monitor and ensure that companies get proper insurance. Since Jackson needs the money for medical procedures now and the trail will take years before Jackson could be awarded any money if she wins, I wonder if the lawsuit will be fast enough for her. Hopefully there is a way to get enough money for her medical procedures quickly and some compensation for her injury and loss of career.
First of all, the production should have had liability insurance. In a film with action scenes that require stunts and stunt doubles, there should be insurance in case of accidents like this. Not only was this stunt person in a coma for seventeen days, but she suffered brain hemorrhaging, spinal fracturing, and amputation. Her life will never be the same, and she isn’t receiving the care she needs. In addition, as per her contract on the film, she should receive due compensation for the surgeries she needs to get as a result of this accident that happened on location. As mentioned in the article, the film grossed over $330 million worldwide, and the producers of the film as well as the production company likely profited more than what the surgeries would cost for this stunt woman, yet they won’t help her financially. She can’t afford these surgeries. And the production company wont way. Not only is this breaking the contract, this is also just heartless, selfish, and inhumane.
This is such a shitty situation. When a stunt person goes in for work they understand that injuries can happen. That’s why the train to make sure they do stunts safe. In this instance it seems that she was doing what she was supposed to and the camera crew was not operating with her. This caused her to run into a camera. Because of this she was in coma for days. I believe that she should be suing the film. It’s so messed up that they said they would pay for her medical treatment (this should be a given) and then not do it. the film company should always have the stunts persons back. Her life is drastically different because of this injury. She no longer works doing stunts and had to have an arm amputated. Overall this is a very shitty situation and I hope she is able to get her medical bills paid for.
This is such an extremely unfortunate situation. Jackson was imply doing her job when another piece of the production failed. This wasn’t even her fault whatsoever.The amount of injuries that she received is really an unbelievable amount, but what’s even worse is that the production had insufficient insurance. Film is definitely an expensive industry, but costs need to be cut in order to pay for important things like insurance for your stunt doubles. This should have never happened in the first place, but the measures should have been in place to cover the costs of her injuries. Her surgery is said to be around $1 million dollars, and in the meantime she cannot work on other movies. Also, the fact that this movie grossed $338 million is truly ridiculous. They should be paying for every penny of Jackson’s medical bills, seeing that this was completely not her fault and she was doing her job exactly as rehearsed. This is a really sad situation and I really hope she gets the money that she deserves from this lawsuit.
This is absolutely appalling. The production company needs to pay. I don't care who's fault it was, but if an employee of yours suffers injuries because of something you asked them to do, they should be completely covered in their medicals costs and at least a portion of lost wages. Resident Evil has plenty of money to cover this and should definitely resolve this before it starts becoming front page news. Also, I think we, as an industry, have too much faith in each of our other departments. Just because someone does a particular thing well, lighting, automation, camera work, etc., does not mean that they are always an expert and are knowledgable about what your group does! I've seen it happen many times where I thought a camera knew we were flying something in and out on stage and then fly their camera in that path. We all need to be a lot more careful about how we communicate with one another making sure we are clear about expectations from all departments, focusing on critical moves that must happen before another can occur.
Stunt doubles are some of the least cared for individuals in film. What they do is so difficult and physically demanding and downright scary and dangerous. The production company's refusal to pay in full for all injuries shows the depth to which stunt doubles need better care. They are brave enough to do things that actors aren't trained for but when they are injured, which happens more frequently than it should, they are not taken care of like the actors would be. The media is wrought with stories of stunt double issues that have gone wrong and it needs to be remedied.
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