When we think of dangerous jobs a few may come to mind– airplane pilot, sailor, officer in the Army; the list goes on. One that doesn’t come to mind as being dangerous is camera assistant.
Sarah Jones probably didn’t either before Feb. 20, when the 27-year-old camera assistant was killed while working on the site of Midnight Rider. The deadly scene of this low budget film was set on a 110-year-old bridge in Georgia. Sarah was struck and killed by a train–while simply doing her job.
Since February, the Hollywood community has been living in outrage at how this wrongful death could have happened. Where were the regulations? Where were the safety precautions? What were the director and the producers thinking? Circumstances make it seem as if they were not overly concerned with the safety of their staff and crew.
A few civil suits have been filed regarding her death. In May, Sarah’s parents filed a wrongful death suit against people and organizations having involvement in the film. The hairstylist, Joyce Gilliard, who was injured during the crash also sued due to her post traumatic stress disorder and lingering injuries. Makeup artist Antonyia Verna was also injured during the crash and is suing for her injuries and PTSD.
The first criminal charges were filed in July regarding Sarah’s case. Director Randall Miller and producers Jody Savin and Jay Sedrish were charged with criminal trespass and involuntary manslaughter by Georgia courts.
At Sears & Associates, P.C., we dread the calls concerning wrongful death lawsuits because it means you have lost a loved one. However, it is important, despite the heartache and the grief, to ensure that your loved one did not die in vain. The family, friends, and colleagues of Sarah Jones are doing just that by filing these lawsuits. While pursuing these will not necessarily provide them solace for their lost loved one, it will hopefully prevent occurrences like this from happening in the future.
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