Disney Fined $36,000 for Fatal Fall on Set of Marvel Series ‘Wonder Man’

Disney has been slapped with a $36,000 fine after a worker on the Marvel series “Wonder Man” fell to his death in February.

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J.C. “Spike” Osorio, a lighting technician, died on Feb. 6 after falling through a rotten catwalk at Stage 3 at the Radford Studio Center in Studio City.

A Cal/OSHA investigation concluded that the catwalk had a deteriorated section of wood, which was improperly nailed to a roof support.

“The deteriorated ledger was weakened likely due to age, environmental conditions and repeated stress loads over many decades,” the investigative summary states. “As the crew walked along the catwalks, the employee stood on the weakened section of catwalk. Suddenly, and without warning, the ledger supporting the floorboard broke apart and collapsed as the employee was standing on this section of catwalk. The employee fell 41 feet and forcefully impacted the ground below.”

The investigation confirmed the account that a witness and two IATSE officials told Variety in February. The death prompted many studio facilities to upgrade their catwalks.

The workplace safety agency issued two “serious” citations to Disney, through its production entity, Ionic Productions, on Aug. 6.

Each citation carries a proposed penalty of $18,000. The maximum penalty the agency can issue for a serious citation is $25,000.

Cal/OSHA also issued two citations to Radford Studio Center, both in the amount of $22,500, bringing the total penalties for both companies to $81,000.

The companies have 15 business days to appeal to the Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board. Disney declined to comment, but is expected to appeal.

Osorio’s widow, Joanne Osorio-Wu, and mother, Zoila Osorio, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Radford Studio Center in May, seeking unspecified damages.

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The suit alleges that the facility knew, or should have known, that the catwalks “were in a dilapidated condition and in desperate need of repair.”

The family’s lawyer, Erika Contreras, said the investigation confirms the allegations in the civil suit.

“The citations issued by OSHA against Radford Studio Center confirm that Mr. Osorio’s death was 100% preventable,” Contreras said. “It also confirms Radford Studio Center failed in its non-delegable duty to properly maintain, repair and inspect its premises. Unfortunately, Mr. Osorio paid the ultimate price for Radford’s failure.”

Radford’s lawyers filed an answer to the suit in July, asserting boilerplate defenses including that the accident could have been caused by Osorio’s negligence, or by the negligence of others.

Hackman Capital Partners bought the facility from ViacomCBS in 2021 for $1.85 billion. The company has proposed a $1 billion expansion and modernization plan, and stated in its proposal that the facility was “aging and outdated” and had suffered from “decades of under-investment.”

Hackman also declined to comment.

“We are deeply saddened by the death of Juan ‘Spike’ Osorio and offer our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends,” the company said in February. “We continue to fully cooperate with the ongoing investigations.”

Osorio was a member of IATSE Local 728.

“IATSE Local 728 is grateful to Cal/OSHA for their commitment to making our workplaces safer,” the union said in a statement. “The loss of Spike was and is needless as everyone should go home safely after a day’s work. While we recognize and appreciate the work that all the major studios have done in retrofitting their soundstages since this tragedy, there are many non-Union facilities that lack the resources and oversight to make this possible. We remain steadfast in our commitment to the safety of our members, and holding our employers to their federally mandated duty of a workplace that is safe and free from hazards. We continue to provide support to Spike’s family as well as his crew. The loss is felt deeply.”

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