“Deadpool 2” Fined Nearly $300,000 For Death Of Stunt Woman
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The producers of “Deadpool 2” have been fined $300,000 for failing to provide a safe workplace for stunt woman Joi Harris who died on the film’s set in August 2017.
Harris was killed in August 2017 while filming a motorcycle stunt in Vancouver. A production studio source told Deadline that the sequence was rehearsed for two full days prior, and ran through “five-plus times before filming.” An eyewitness alleges that on the last take, Harris crashed through a plate-glass window of a nearby building after losing control of her motorcycle as she was turning a corner.
Joi Harris was not wearing a helmet when the accident took place because the character she was portraying, Domino, didn’t wear protective gear in the scene either.
The fine was imposed on TCF Vancouver Productions LTD by WorkSafeBC, a health and safety watchdog. In a statement, the agency said:
“The primary purpose of an administrative penalty is to motivate the employer receiving the penalty — and other employers — to comply with occupational health and safety requirements and to keep their workplaces safe.”
An investigation by WorkSafeBC identified five violations of the Workers Compensation Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, including:
• Failure to ensure the health and safety of all workers by failing to identify the hazards and assess and control the risks of the work activity and failing to provide adequate supervision.
• Failure to ensure that the stunt performer complied with the Regulation by wearing safety headgear while operating the motorcycle.
• Failure to ensure the health and safety of the stunt performer by failing to provide adequate supervision with respect to this work activity.
• Failure to provide the stunt performer with a new worker orientation.
• Instructing the stunt performer not to wear safety headgear while operating the motorcycle.
Before joining the Deadpool 2 crew, Harris was the first African-American woman licensed to actively compete in American Motorcyclist Association races.
Deadpool 2 starred Ryan Reynolds as the Marvel Comics character and was released in film theatres in May 2018.
