Britain's Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on Feb. 11 announced that Foodles Production (UK) Ltd. will be prosecuted over an incident in which actor Harrison Ford was seriously injured during the filming of Star Wars: The Forces Awakens.
Ford suffered a broken leg and other injuries when he was struck by a heavy hydraulic metal door on the Millennium Falcon set at Pinewood Studios in London on June 12, 2015.
Foodles Production (UK) Ltd., also based in London, is set to appear at High Wycombe Magistrates Court on May 12 to face charges for breaches of four occupational health and safety laws. They are:
- Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, which states: “It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees.”
- Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, which states: “It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety.”
- Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, which states “Every employer shall make a suitable and sufficient assessment of (a)the risks to the health and safety of his employees to which they are exposed whilst they are at work; and (b) the risks to the health and safety of persons not in his employment arising out of or in connection with the conduct by him of his undertaking, for the purpose of identifying the measures he needs to take to comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed upon him by or under the relevant statutory provisions and by Part II of the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997.”
- Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, which states: “Every employer shall ensure that measures are taken in accordance with paragraph (2) which are effective (a) to prevent access to any dangerous part of machinery or to any rotating stock-bar; or (b) to stop the movement of any dangerous part of machinery or rotating stock-bar before any part of a person enters a danger zone.”
“By law, employers must take reasonable steps to protect workers. This is as true on a film set as a factory floor,” said an HSE spokesperson. “We have investigated thoroughly and believe that we have sufficient evidence to bring the case to court.”
