No matter how many precautions a production takes, there are often a lot of risks involved with filming a movie, especially if it involves any kind of stunt or action work, as many films do. Of course, there are also instances in which the proper precautions weren't taken in the first place, which can seriously endanger actors and crew members. Horror movies especially seem to have a history of actors getting injured or involved in other unfortunate events for one reason or another, which has unfortunately given a lot of these productions a bad rap.
While on-set injuries are unfortunately not as uncommon as they should be, they do happen, even during scenes that aren't intended to include intense stunts. One horror movie filmed a stunt that went wrong and left the actress who performed it with persisting injuries that she even took the production company to court over. The whole situation is a regrettable example of how just one accident can change a person's life and lead to lasting consequences.
The accident in question happened on the set of the film Ghostland (also known as Incident in a Ghostland), an indie horror flick written and directed by Paul Laugier. The basic plot of Ghostland is that a mother of two inherits a house where she is confronted by murderous intruders on their first night there, and the family has to fight for their lives against the unwelcome visitors. The two daughters reunite at the house sixteen years later, and more strange events begin to occur.
Canadian actress Taylor Hickson (Deadpool; Everything, Everything), who played the younger version of Vera (one of the daughters) in the film, is the person that had the unfortunate accident during filming in Winnipeg in 2016. The scene required Hickson to approach a glass door and pound on it, but when she went to perform the action (which wasn't really supposed to be a stunt in the first place), the glass shattered when she struck it. This caused Hickson to fall through, which led to her acquiring serious cuts on her face and neck.
These weren't just minor cuts and scrapes; one of the slices that Hickson suffered on the left side of her face required nearly 70 stitches at the hospital and left her with permanent scarring. Hickson claimed that these injuries derailed her career and jeopardized her future in the industry, besides just causing her physical pain in the moment. She sued the Winnipeg-based production company - the perhaps too-aptly named Incident Productions Inc. - in 2018, seeking damages for loss of income, mental distress, and legal costs as a result of the accident.
Incident Productions Inc. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the safety and welfare of a worker under the Workplace Safety and Health Act, and was fined $40,000 by the province of Manitoba. Hickson's lawyer Jason Harvey claimed that the incident has obviously been very hard on Hickson, both mentally and physically, especially as it has impacted her career as a young, up-and-coming actress. She has had a loss of opportunities, and therefore a loss of income, as a result of the injuries she incurred.
The Manitoba chapter of The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (or ACTRA), a Canadian performer's union, filed a grievance against the production company as well, shortly after Hickson's incident occurred. Their claims were pretty similar to Hickson's complaints, and they argued that she should have had the option of having a stunt performer do the scene in her place. Rob Macklin, the spokesperson for ACTRA, also said that the incident does not suggest a broader safety issue amongst Canadian productions, and that overall Canadian film and TV sets are quite safe, but that anything can happen, even on a set where every precaution has been taken.
The whole situation just shows how even "tamer" stunts can be dangerous for the actors involved if proper safety precautions aren't observed - and sometimes even if they are. Of course, accidents can happen no matter what, and the industry can be unpredictable, but it proves the importance of safety checks and of stunt performers as a whole. Hopefully Hickson's story can set a precedent so that similar incidents don't happen again in the future.
Source: CBC