‘Fast & Furious 9’ producers admit fault after stunt performer left with “life-changing” injuries

nme.com:

Fast & Furious 9 have admitted liability for the “life-changing” injuries suffered by a stunt performer on set in 2019.FF9 Pictures Limited, a subsidiary of Universal Pictures in the UK, is to pay Joe Watts damages for the incident.

In 2022, Watts brought a legal claim for more than $1.2million (£940,000) against the production company [via Variety].Watts, an experienced stunt performer who has worked on films including Solo: A Star Wars Story and Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, was rehearsing a fight scene at Leavesden Studios with a stand in for Vin Diesel when he was thrown over a balcony and onto a concrete floor from a height of more than 20ft.It’s claimed that a safety wire designed to stop Watts’s fall malfunctioned and that he also missed the safety mat because the stunt was performed differently to the initial rehearsal.Watts was in a coma for five days following the accident, and suffered a fractured skull, traumatic brain injury, psychiatric injury and damage to his shoulder.His lawyers have described his injuries as “life-changing” and claimed that he’s been left with “a series of cognitive and physical issues” requiring specialist support and therapies.“He will not be able to return to his pre-accident employment as a stunt man,” Watts’ legal filings allege. “If he is able to work, he will suffer a permanent handicap on the labour market.”FF9 Pictures Limited lodged its defence in the High Court recently, saying that it was to blame for the accident.“It is admitted that the sole cause of the accident was the negligence of [FF9 Pictures Limited] its servants or agents or those for whom it is vicariously liable,” the company wrote.