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Star Wars Production Company Fined Almost $2 Million For Harrison Ford's Injury (bbc.co.uk)
New submitter Shimbo writes: Foodles Production (UK) Ltd was fined 1.6 million British pounds (almost $2 million) at Aylesbury Crown Court today after pleading guilty to two charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act at an earlier hearing. Judge Francis Sheridan said, "The greatest failing of all on behalf of the company is a lack of communication, a lack because, if you have a risk assessment and you do not communicate it, what is the point of having one?" The fine is a result of an unfortunate incident while filming Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Harrison Ford was reportedly knocked to the ground and crushed beneath a heavy hydraulic door when he walked on to the set of the Millennium Falcon -- not believing it to be live. The 71-year-old actor suffered a broken left leg. Prosecutor Andrew Marshall said, according to Britain's Press Association, the door acted like a "blunt guillotine," coming down "millimeters from his face." The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) told the court that Ford was hit with a force similar to the weight of a small car.
A British film production company has been fined £1.6 million (almost $2 million) ...
He was trying to recreate the stormtrooper hitting his head in the first Star Wars film (IV: A New Hope).
The film was so bad they needed to add a bloopers extra for the film to even sell on DVD.
I am a bit curious on why they didn't use styrofoam for the automatic doors. When they are molded and painted it is tough to tell the difference. However if they close on someone. The injures would be much less.
The cost of fixing a styrofoam door would be less than the cost of breaking a stars leg.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Ford was hit with a force similar to the weight of a small car
The force was not with him, that day.
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
Sound like a legendary way to leave.
I'm picturing a huge door slamming down right next to his head as the article describes. But then I try to figure out how his leg broke... Where was his leg such that it was broken when the door came down near his head?
If it was you or me or any other non-celebrity and this didn't get any real news, they'd have been fined maybe $20,000. But Ford has lawyers and a lot of money.
I guess that means Han Solo isn't dead.
The problem with quotes on the internet, is that nobody bothers to check their veracity. -- Abraham Lincoln
He was actually completely clear of the door, but reached back to grab his hat
Almost sounds like Han Solo getting crushed by heavy hydraulic garbage compactor...
£1.6 million. About 260 times the usual UK settlement for a broken leg at work.
The one that lowers to form a ramp to enter the ship. Can't have actors walking on a styrofoam ramp. TFA says in the 1977 movie, the door/ramp was lowered by hand using pulleys. Guess someone decided the new movies deserved a fancy mechanized door. Except since this is for a movie and not "real" use, it was designed and built by prop makers who never really gave much thought to safety since the very low frequency of use of their props meant accidents were exceedingly rare.
Are you sure this story isn't about Harris Ford?
They should have hit Disney with a bigger fine for killing Han Solo GRAPHICALLY - ON SCREEN - BY HIS OWN SON in front of an audience including six year old kids. Giving that movie a PG-13 rating was pretty fucked up. PG-13 sounds like 'Parental Guidance for children under 13' but if you read the go to the MPAA's web site their fine print it says "PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned) – Some Material May Be Inappropriate For Children Under 13." Guess Disney didn't want an R rating to scare away families so they pulled strings at the MPAA
Found On Ramp Dead? .......I slay me.
Fix Or Repair Door?
Force Of Ramp Door?
You are being ripped off every second of every day, so that advertisers can help rip you off even more tomorrow.
In fact, it was over 12 parsecs of force. He is lucky to be alive.
May the force be equal to mass times acceleration.
This signature is false.
but i do rather like the 3 Indiana Jones movies but if they do a fourth they would have to do some sort of handof to a younger character
I guess the hit damage are more related to energy than force.
So you have a movie filmed in the UK, during which an accident occurred that was avoidable, and that fact alone cost a fortune (shooting was delayed, and it's hard to tell what kind of damages they paid Ford to keep him on board). Now you have the government stepping in and levying a very large fine against the production company on top of everything else. I'm sure this will prompt film makers to have second thoughts about filming in the UK, especially on sound stages like the one involved which can pretty much be done anywhere. I'm not suggesting it was wrong of the government to fine them, I'm just saying that surely it will be something that movie producers will be considering in the future when they decide where to do their shooting.
I also can't help but wonder if the very large fine was the result of the popularity of the movie involved and the amount of money it made.
Better known as 318230.
move it back to usa where you can make each actor an 1099 work and wash your hands of any workers comp.
But later versions were edited to show the door shout first.
As heartbroken as the rest of us are over the next StarWars turd Disney's hard at work on, how does this affect the new Bladerunner movie? We were told 2017-10-7. We're holding you to it now!
Except for that whole pesky union thing.
took seven episodes, but he finally joins the jedi ranks.
definitely not euros. one doesn't measure the force in euros. so, what is the going exchange rate from pounds to midichlorians, anyway?
Ford is more or less a real life "Final Destination" character. Between the door and the number of air plane accidents he should have died years ago. That last air plane accident did a real number on him. He couldn't talk for a week. If anything the real hero is his PR guy which made the media think he walked away from the last crash.
This is true in a literal sense. But completely false in practical terms.
Worker's comp is a trade off. They must cover you if you are injured, but generally you cannot sue for additional damages even if the employer is at serious fault. Damages are capped to medical bills and a paycheck. Without worker's comp limit of liability, there is no cap. A significant number of insurance providers demand employers ask for proof of workman's comp insurance for their contractors or pay for their workman's comp just as if they were a normal employee. Elsewise, said insurance provider leave themselves potentially open for significant uncapped liability.
Workman's comp insurance is pretty cheap for occupations that aren't statistically dangerous. Electricians, chainsaw jugglers and commercial fishermen might have a much harder job.
Nothing to do with workers' comp.
"Mind the gap."
Have gnu, will travel.
...seeing as it was a quote from *Britain's* Press Association.