UK authorities sue Star Wars producer over Harrison Ford’s broken leg | Ars Technica

2022-06-07 08:15:25 By : Mr. Williams Liu

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Megan Geuss - Feb 11, 2016 5:22 pm UTC

On Thursday, the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) announced that it is pressing charges against Foodles Production, a UK-based Disney subsidiary that produced Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, over an incident that left actor Harrison Ford with a broken leg.

According to the HSE press release, Ford was "struck by a heavy hydraulic metal door on the set of the Millennium Falcon” on June 12, 2014, leaving him with a broken leg among other injuries. The accident occurred at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire.

Ford was 71 at the time of the accident.

“By law, employers must take reasonable steps to protect workers—this is as true on a film set as a factory floor,” HSE wrote. "We have investigated thoroughly and believe that we have sufficient evidence to bring the case to court.”

Specifically, HSE accused Foodles Production of failing to minimize risks to its actors and of failing to do a sufficient assessment of the risks that might present themselves on the workplace floor. Foodles also allegedly failed to keep its employees away from dangerous machinery or stop the movement of the dangerous machinery when employees had to approach.

According to Entertainment Weekly the first court hearing will be on May 12. The paper reported in November that Ford shattered his leg and that the movie’s shooting schedule had been changed around to allow Ford time to recuperate.

Foodles Production told the BBC, "Cast and crew safety is always a top priority. We provided full cooperation during HSE's investigation into the on-set accident that occurred in June 2014 and are disappointed in HSE's decision."

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