- Watts injured in Fast & Furious stunt.
- £800,000 fine.
- Safety line detachment critical.
Joe Watts was thrown over the left shoulder of another performer during a staged combat scene for F9: The Fast Saga when his safety line detached, causing him to fall headfirst and miss the crash mats.
The producers of the Fast & Furious films were fined £800,000 following the brain injury of a stuntman who incurred a fall of 25 feet (7 meters) while filming the ninth installment in the franchise.
The Incident at Warner Brothers Studios
Joe Watts, who similarly sustained a fractured cranium, was engaged in a stunt at the Warner Brothers studios in Leavesden, Hertfordshire, in July 2019 at the time of the incident.
As a result of his safety line detaching during a staged combat scene for F9: The Fast Saga on a balcony, Mr. Watts fell headfirst to the concrete floor after being thrown over the shoulder of another performer.
Legal Consequences and Health and Safety Failings
FF9 Pictures, a subsidiary of Universal Pictures and the film manufacturer, was ordered to pay £800,000 at Luton Magistrates’ Court after admitting to health and safety failings.
The court was initially informed that Mr. Watts was thrown onto the left shoulder of another performer during filming. However, this was altered to the right shoulder during rehearsals.
On the second try, his safety line, which had functioned properly on the initial attempt, became detached from his vest. This caused him to descend to the ground and narrowly miss the crash mats.
The wire remained uninspected during the attempts.
Despite the stunt’s “last-minute” sentence change, District Judge Talwinder Buttar said Mr. Watts is “fortunate to be alive.”
Despite the altered routine from rehearsals, she further stated that it is “astonishing” that the mats were not adjusted.
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The prosecution was initiated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which stated that FF9 lacked “any mechanism to verify that the link had been adequately engaged and tightened.
According to HSE, the organization failed to extend the crash matting required. This was to mitigate the effects of an unintended fall after alterations were made to the stunt’s set and sequence.
Mr. Watts is a well-known stunt performer, having appeared in the Star Wars and Game of Thrones films, among others.
Inspector Roxanne Barker of the HSE stated, “Mr. Watts suffered life-altering injuries and was in imminent danger of death.”
While stunt work does not prioritize fall prevention, its primary objective is to mitigate the potential for injury.
