"Do" Diligence: OHS/WSIB Newsletter

On August 14, 2017, a worker employed as a stunt driver, was working on the movie, "Deadpool 2", when she suffered fatal injuries after a crash on a movie set in Vancouver, British Columbia. The worker died after crashing her motorcycle into the glass exterior of a skyscraper, in a sequence being shot for the movie.

A temporary work site had been set up to record the film scene. The site had been cordoned off from both the general public and traffic by the Vancouver Police department. Just prior to the incident, the worker had been rehearsing the stunt scene that involved driving a Ducati 939 Hyperstrata out of open doors of a building, across a concrete pad, down a ramp that had been built over 3 stairs and then coming to a stop on the stairs' landing.  According to WorkSafeBC, the government agency, investigating the incident, it was during the first shooting of the scene that the worker continued driving beyond the planned stop spot on the landing. She allegedly  continued to drive down a second ramp built over the bottom stairs and across the roadway when her motorcycle struck a concrete sidewalk curb and she was thrown off the bike and propelled through a plate glass window. The worker was not wearing a helmet when the accident happened because the character she was portraying does not wear one. According to news reports, the worker was an experienced road racer, but this was her first time performing stunts. The stunt driver was a member of the Union of British Columbia Performers/ACTRA (Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists).

The incident is currently under investigation by WorkSafeBC, the occupational health and safety regulator in British Columbia. The Coroners Service of British Columbia is also investigating. The scene was initially secured, as required by OHS laws, and released by the regulator, so that filming was able to resume on alternate aspects of the production, as of August 16, 2017.

In accordance with ss. 175 and 176, the Workers Compensation Act, the employer will be required to conduct both a preliminary and formal investigation and submit a report to WorkSafeBC with information including but not limited to:

  • Identification of any unsafe conditions, acts or procedures that significantly contributed to the incident, and
  • the corrective actions necessary to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents.

According to WorkSafeBC, this accident was the first fatal stunt-related death in BC since 1996. In a recent, similar incident in Georgia, on July 12, 2017, a stunt performer died on the set of the TV series, "The Walking Dead"; the first stunt related fatality in the United States in 17 years.

As the OHS regulator in British Columbia has two (2) years in which to lay charges, it remains to be seen whether or not any individuals or corporations will be prosecuted as a result of this accident.

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