Claims In the Entertainment Industry

In the summer of 2000 Chris Lamon, a stuntman, was killed during the filming of the Steven Seagal movie Exit Wounds. He and another stuntperson were supposed to roll safely out of a van travelling upside down on a street, but due to the slightest of miscalculations, Lamon apparently hit his head and was mortally injured. He died six days later.

On August 9, 2003, an extreme storm cell in the United States. tore through Nebraska’s Godstock — an outdoor concert. The stage, designed to withstand high winds, took the brunt of a straight line wind exceeding 60 mph, destroying the $2 million stage, sound, roof and lighting system.

Creating sets for movies and concerts is a big investment. A typical movie set can cost anywhere from $0.5 to $30 million. Car chase scenes, pyrotechnics, big elaborate stages and massive lighting and sound rigs comprising thousands of pounds of equipment are all common elements in the entertainment industry. All that equipment and the labour invested in setting it up requires millions of dollars in insurance coverage.

Set accidents have become less frequent through the years, but they do still occur. The resulting insurance claims arise from personal injury claims, lost production time, equipment replacement and set reconstruction. Delay-type claims associated with an entertainment industry loss are often significant. After a set is shut down for repairs and regulatory investigations, there is additional expense for overtime, permits and stage/venue equipment rentals as the production tries to regain time. There may even be more costs and headaches to reschedule expensive “star” actors.

The Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera tour “Justified and Stripped” is a good example of a significant loss due not only to immediate damages, but also to the costs resulting from delays. The concert was halted before it even began due to a major structural failure of the support grid at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall. The grid was reportedly overloaded because the allowable loads were not properly established. During the load-in, the Hall’s new 100 by 100 foot ‘super grid structure’ buckled and tilted downward before completely collapsing, crushing much of the sound, lighting and video equipment. Direct damage to property (lighting, sound, video and staging equipment) was estimated to be more than $1 million. The venue was shut down as local, state and federal officials investigated. The concert was cancelled until the roof was fixed and future concerts for the venue and the tour were postponed.

The most frequent types of theatrical workplace accidents are: injuries during construction (often to an equipment operator) and teardown (de-rigging), equipment breakage and losses caused by things falling or tipping over.

Failing to provide a safe workplace poses a real risk to employers. Non-compliance with Occupational Health and Safety regulations can lead to fines of up to $500,000 and imprisonment of up to six months for a first offence. These limits rise to $1 million for second and subsequent offences. In most cases when an incident occurs the Ministry of Labour investigates, which usually halts production.

Entertainment Versus a Regular Claim

After an accident occurs on set, one of the adjuster’s priorities is getting the production up and running again as quickly as possible. A key to getting production back on track and managing a claim in the entertainment industry is knowing what to look for and the differences between an entertainment and a regular claim. For example, if there is a fire in a factory or building there can be many avenues of causation. In some cases subrogation is relatively easy and straightforward, whereas in others causation is not as readily apparent due to a number of factors such as the building codes in effect at the time the structure was built or, in the case of an electrical fire, an origin and cause going back to the electrician who installed the original wiring.

With regards to movie sets there is usually no pre-existing condition that may explain an occurrence. Production companies bring or build their own sets/staging to create structures that look like buildings but actually aren’t. A crash or stunt that is not set up or monitored correctly can also lead to a real life accident. Because employees of the movie build/set everything up determining causation is more difficult as it can usually be attributed to one party or another and is often due to improper training of third party vendors or misuse of equipment. Determining which party is responsible is often the challenge.

Misuse of Equipment

There is also a big difference when insuring a venue as opposed to the tour/film production company. In some cases the tour company could be held responsible if they did not use the equipment they said they were going to use or if they did not ensure that various items such as: sound, lighting, hoisting equipment or motors were assembled/installed properly. Concerts usually bring their own equipment and problems also arise when workers are not trained or qualified to use the equipment brought in by touring company.

Improper Training

Despite the huge number of production personnel employed by a movie or concert tour, there is still third party outside providers of services and equipment. Even if the insured has trained production personnel (including safety training), if outside contractors are not properly trained and/or familiar with the safety requirements of temporary sets and staging, accidents can occur.

As the insurer, you should ask to see proof of training from outside providers (i.e. certified welders, equipment operators, etc.). Verify that people coordinating the stunts have more than just practical experience. Normally, the people responsible for setting up the stunts, such as special effects or pyrotechnic experts, do have training. Therefore it is advisable to make training a condition of insurance.

Lack of Safety Planning

When adjusting a claim, look critically at the safety programs the insured has set up, or a lack thereof. Having a safety plan in place not only helps you get things moving after the Ministry of Labour shuts the set down for investigation, it also helps reduce the risk of future incidents from occurring. The Ministry of Labour is normally involved in any concert or film set issue because it is a very labour intensive industry.

Even if there are no specific safety standards for the event/stage/venue, there are things the insured can voluntarily do. Whether the insured implements a safety plan, safety management system or a safety program, the basic components are the same. They will have guidelines for workers to follow to ensure they are carrying out tasks in a safe manner. They will identify workplace hazards and put controls in place to eliminate or reduce them.

For example, a fire on set should never get out of control if the production company has done the proper safety planning and ensured precautionary, on-site fire suppression. In the case of a house/building fire, damages can result if one individual has too many items plugged into an outlet or if the electrician did not properly wire it. But, in the case of staging or film set fires that get out of control, the person planning the fire/explosion, the person responsible for putting out the fire or the lack of fire suppression precautionary measures in place, are all the most likely causes. It would be very unlikely that a fire was caused by elements outside the control of the film employee or contractor.

Subrogation

Many service and equipment providers supply a big budget movie. Adjusters will want to examine whether equipment, supplies and outside labour provided to the production caused the loss as it may provide an avenue for subrogation. Typical providers to entertainment productions include: private labour supply companies, construction equipment and machine rental firms, s tage venue owners and their employees, pyrotechnic suppliers, theatrical vehicle suppliers, animal handlers and so on.

Although set accidents are infrequent, there will always be the risk of a freak confluence of events occurring. By being prepared there are a variety of ways the adjuster can minimize the costs incurred from the resulting claims.

Jeff Archbold, M.A.Sc., P.Eng. is a mechanical and human factors expert at Walters Forensic Engineering Inc. Also an expert in aerial rigging and fall protection, he has been proudly asked to oversee design and engineering of the rigging systems and fall protection at the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C.