OSHA has fined CBS’ Eye Productions, the producers of its drama “MacGyver,” $9,472 for an accident that left a stunt coordinator seriously injured last summer.
The labor agency dinged Eye Productions for “failing to protect employees from hazards while filming a television show.” OSHA said it investigated the incident “after a stuntman was injured while performing a stunt from a moving vehicle traveling approximately 18 mph. OSHA issued a serious citation for failing to provide adequate head protection during stunts.”
The stunt coordinator, Justin Sundquist, was injured in an on-set accident last August and was placed in a medically induced coma for several days, due to head injuries. According to an individual familiar with the matter, Sundquist was injured when he fell during a stunt involving a moving vehicle.
“This incident underscores the requirement for employers in the entertainment industry to implement better safety practices to protect actors and stunt persons from serious injuries,” said OSHA Atlanta-West Acting Area Director Keith Hass.
“We have learned about an injury to stunt coordinator Justin Sundquist that occurred late Monday on the set of MacGyver in Atlanta,” CBS TV Studios said in a statement following the incident. “The production team is cooperating with the authorities investigating the accident, and our primary concern at this time is Justin’s health and well-being.”
Eye Productions now has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
Sundquist settled a lawsuit with CBS in 2017 after claiming that “serious violations” of safety protocol on the set of “Hawaii Five-0” led to a separate injury. The stuntman was working as a stunt double for Alex O’Loughlin’s character Steve McGarrett when he was “struck and seriously injured” by a speeding car in 2016. In the lawsuit, he accused the production of “serious violations of minimum industry standard safety protocols.”