The mother of a stuntman who fell to his death on the set of “The Walking Dead” in Georgia has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the show’s network and other parties, saying unreasonably low budgets led to inadequate safety precautions.
John Bernecker, 33, died July 12 from injuries suffered in a fall on the set in Senoia, about 35 miles south of Atlanta.
The lawsuit filed Tuesday by Susan Bernecker in Gwinnett County state court says AMC Networks Inc. “orchestrated and enforced a pattern of filming and producing ‘The Walking Dead’ cheaply and, ultimately, unsafely.” AMC pressured production company Stalwart Films to keep budgets and expenses unreasonably low, leading Stalwart to cut corners on safety measures, it says.
The lawsuit also names other companies associated with AMC and Stalwart Films, as well as the director and stunt coordinator for the episode that was being shot and an actor who was shooting a scene with Bernecker, among others.
AMC said Wednesday in an emailed statement, “We take the safety of our employees on all of our sets extremely seriously, and meet or exceed industry safety standards.” The company said its “thoughts and prayers” are with Bernecker, his family and everyone touched by the tragedy.
Susan Bernecker said in a news release that she hopes her son’s death will lead to improved safety standards for stunt performers in the film and television industry.
“My goal is to do everything I can to protect other stunt performers and to ensure their safety on the set in the future,” she said. “The industry is not doing enough to maintain basic safety guidelines for these performers. Worst of all, they’re scared to speak up.”
The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration earlier this month cited Stalwart Films in Bernecker’s fatal fall. The agency proposed a fine of $12,675, the maximum allowable fine for a single serious violation, for “failure to provide adequate protection from fall hazards.”
OSHA said the company could have used several methods to reduce the risk from stunts on high platforms.
In a statement after the citation was issued, Stalwart Films said it disagreed with the citation and called Bernecker’s fall “a tragic and terrible accident,” saying it meets or exceeds industry safety standards on its sets.