‘Lethal Weapon’ Producer Sued Over Stunt Mishap Involving Motorist
Members of the general public aren’t usually the ones injured when film and TV stunts go wrong, but that’s what happened during filming last summer of Fox and Warner Bros TV’s Lethal Weapon in Long Beach, CA, according to a lawsuit filed May 7 in Los Angeles Superior Court.
The lawsuit against WarnerMedia and Warner Bros claims Sandi Habbas “suffered a traumatic brain injury” on August 22, 2018, when the vehicle her husband Sami was driving was “shredded” by a zip line that had been strung across a street in Long Beach for a test run of a stunt on the show in which a stuntman would be hooked up to glide across the street.
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The test, involving a 300-pound sandbag, was completed and auto traffic was allowed to resume, but as the Habbas’ vehicle passed under the cable, it snapped and struck their car, according to the suit (read it here).
The vehicle, traveling at 20 mph, was unexpectedly “struck with a significant amount of force,” the suit states. “The line lifted up Habbas’ vehicle and shredded the front end of it. The force was significant enough that it damaged a light pole in the process.”
“Plaintiffs were startled from the high impact collision it had with the zip line,” reads the suit, which accuses the companies of willful misconduct and negligence and seeks unspecified damages. “Both sustained immediate emotional distress as they were in shock from being struck by an object that came from the air that they were unaware was in existence.”
The suit also claims they both “sustained physical injuries to their bodies.” According to the suit, paramedics were contacted and Sandi Habbas “was transported by ambulance.”
Read the police report of the incident here.
“Plaintiffs suffered severe emotional distress, requiring constant psychological care,” the suit alleges. Sandi “suffered a traumatic brain injury” and post-traumatic stress disorder that still requires her to receive psychological care for “severe emotional distress.”
Deadline reached out to Warner Bros and WarnerMedia but has yet to receive a response.
Lethal Weapon wrapped its third season on February 26, with a decision coming soon about whether the series will be renewed.
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