Star Wars production company fined £1.6 million for Harrison Ford injury
The production company behind ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ has been fined £1.6 million for injuring Harrison Ford.
The 74-year-old actor was badly injured filming for his role as Han Solo in the science fiction franchise at Pinewood Studios in London, England when a door on the Millennium Falcon spaceship fell open and broke his leg.
Foodles Productions pleaded guilty for breaching health and safety legislation on two counts at Milton Keynes magistrates court in July, and have now been handed the hefty fine at Aylesbury Crown Court.
Tim Galloway – the divisional director for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said in a statement: "This incident was foreseeable and preventable and could have resulted in more serious injury or even death.
The power and speed of the door was such that, had Mr Ford or anyone else had been struck on the head by the door as it closed, they might easily have been killed.
It was only the almost instantaneous actions of the prop operator in hitting the emergency stop that prevented the door from continuing to press down on Mr Ford as he lay on the floor."
During a previous court appearance, a spokesperson for HSE said upholding health and safety rules was "vital" to "protecting the reputation" of the film industry in the UK.
The source said: "The British film industry has a world-renowned reputation for making exceptional films. Managing on-set risks in a sensible and proportionate way for all actors and staff – regardless of their celebrity status – is vital to protecting both on-screen and off-screen talent, as well as protecting the reputation of the industry."
Meanwhile, Harrison previously opened up about the injury. He said at the time: "Now we had lots of money and technology and so they built a f***ing great hydraulic door which closed at light speed and somebody said, ‘Ooh I wonder what this is?’
"And the door came down and hit me on my left hip because I was turned to my right. And then it flung my left leg up and it dislocated my ankle and as it drove me down to the floor, my legs slapped on the ramp up to the Millennium Falcon and broke both bones in my left leg."
