America's Got Talent Contestant Files Suit After Fiery On-Set Accident
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Jonathan Goodwin
Former America's Got Talent: Extreme competitor Jonathan Goodwin has filed a lawsuit claiming lax on-set safety standards led to the fiery accident that nearly took his life in 2021.
Goodwin, aka "The Daredevil" was at Atlanta Motor Speedway rehearsing his death-defying act for the NBC franchise's "Extreme" spinoff when the stunt went horribly wrong.
The jaw-dropping act featured Goodwin suspended 20-40 feet in the air in a straitjacket hanging by his feet from a wire. Two cars were suspended on either side of him swinging back and forth. The stunt was for Goodwin to free himself from the restraints, fall on an airbag and avoid getting crushed by the cars.
During the Oct 21, 2021 rehearsal, Goodwin wasn’t able to free himself in time and was caught between the two cars, which exploded following the impact. After which, Goodwin fell to the ground missing the air mattress.
Goodwin sustained a "dislocated spinal cord, internal organ injuries, fractures to his legs, ribs, shoulders and extensive third-degree burns," according to the suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.
The filing goes on to say that Goodwin, who is paraplegic as the result of spinal injuries from the accident, "has and will continue to suffer, permanent physical, mental and emotional injuries."
"Because of Defendants' conscious disregard for the safety of others and for their gross, wanton and reckless breaches, Mr. Harvey suffered catastrophic, life-altering injuries," the filing states.
Among the safety measures disregarded, the suits claims, "Defendants failed to implement industry safety standards...designing and modifying a stunt in a manner that made it highly likely lo fail, hiring incompetent individuals to oversee and control the safety of the design and execution of the stunt, improperly controlling the design and execution of the stunt, failing to test the stunt without a live person after modifications were made, failing to implement and require adequate redundancies and suitable airbags (safety nets), and failing to ensure that adequate safeguards were taken to prevent injuries."
Related: What We Know About Jonathan Goodwin's Accident
NBC paused production after the accident and shelved the show after only four episodes.
The plaintiff's attorneys cast a wide net of defendants, including Fremantle Media North America and its production arm, Syco Entertainment, Marathon Productions and NBCUniversal, among others.
His Extreme appearance would have been his third on the franchise.
Goodwin initially appeared on America’s Got Talent in 2020, making it to the semifinal round, which led to his being invited to appear on America’s Got Talent: Extreme which is described as showcasing “the most outrageous, unique and jaw-dropping acts of enormous scale and magnitude that simply cannot be confined to a theater stage.” He was also a finalist on Britain's Got Talent in 2019.
One year after the accident, Goodwin shared an update on Instagram.
"I have been to the very brink and dodged the worst that a human being can, without fear…because I was protected by love," he said in the post. "Love is all you need, so make sure you get some, cos its good shit. To death I say nananana boo boo... There is a long road to recovery and that won’t look like what it did… but I have a lot left to do in this world. Maybe we can make something good together?"
Next, Simon Cowell to the Extreme! All the Details on the 'Extreme' Spinoff of America's Got Talent
