A production company has been hit with an HSE fine after a stunt performer suffered life-changing injuries while filming Fast and Furious 9: The Fast Saga.
Joe Watts, of Surrey, fell around 25 feet at Warner Bros. studios in Leavesden, Hertfordshire in July 2019.
He suffered the injuries during the filming of a fight scene.
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He fell 25 feet onto the concrete floor below when the line on his stunt vest became detached.
He suffered a fractured skull and a severe traumatic brain injury, which has resulted in permanent impairment and disability.
The incident was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
It found the risk assessment carried out by the company, FF9 Pictures Limited, failed to address the potential issue of a rope snap or a link failure.
It found there was no system for double-checking the link had been properly engaged and tightened.
The investigation also found inspections of harnesses were supposed to be carried out every six months=.
But the harness Mr Watts had been using not been inspected in the previous six months.
FF9 Pictures Limited also did not extend the crash matting needed to mitigate the consequences of an unintended fall following changes to the set and the sequence of the stunt.
“He could have easily been killed”
FF9 Pictures Limited, of St. Giles High Street, London, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
The company was fined £800,000 and ordered to pay £14,752.85 in costs at Luton Magistrates’ Court on Friday, November 21.
HSE inspector Roxanne Barker said: “Mr Watts’ injuries were life-changing and he could have easily been killed. In stunt work, it is not about preventing a fall but minimising the risk of an injury.”
Sentencing, district judge Talwinder Buttar said Mr Watts is fortunate to be alive and added that she was astonished that the crash matting was not adequate.
