Yahoo Lifestyle Netflix Crew Member Settles Suit After Near-Fatal Fall at Sunset Gower Studios
A crew member on the Netflix film “Me Time” has settled a lawsuit over a near-fatal fall that left him with a traumatic brain injury.
Michael Oronoz was working as a grip at Sunset Gower Studios in September 2021, when he fell from the catwalk to the floor 33 feet below. He was in a coma for three weeks, and had to relearn how to talk and how to walk over the course of a long recovery.
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He sued Hudson Pacific Properties, the facility owner, in 2023, alleging that the company had failed to properly maintain the 1957 building.
The suit was dismissed on Monday. Attorneys on both sides declined to comment on the resolution, and terms were not disclosed. Netflix, which was not a party to the suit, also declined to comment.
A similar accident took place in February 2024, when J.C. “Spike” Osorio fell 41 feet to his death at Radford Studio Center. Cal/OSHA concluded the accident was the result of rotten wood in the catwalk, and issued citations to Radford and Disney. That incident prompted several studio facilities to retrofit their catwalks.
Oronoz’s wife, Selina, spoke out last fall about about lax safety standards on movie sets.
“We want things to be fixed. The buildings are old,” she told Variety. “They know this equipment is old, and after all these years they haven’t done anything about it.”
Oronoz, a grip and member of IATSE Local 80, was injured while trying to fix a motorized hoist that had gotten jammed. He leaned for support on a gate, which swung outward over a void.
His lawyer, Alexander Eisner, argued that, under current standards, the gate would have to either slide or swing inward. But there was no requirement to bring the facility up to those standards.
A photo taken three months before the accident showed that the gate was tied with a rope, indicating that the latch was not functioning properly.
“It’s difficult to defend how you could let this persist,” Eisner told Variety last fall.
Oronoz had 11 surgeries and lost 10 years of his memory. During his recovery, he racked up $5 million in medical bills, which were covered by workers compensation insurance. His attorney estimated that lost wages and future medical costs could amount to as much as $14 million.
He returned to work in a limited capacity last year, though he could only work a couple days a week. He and his wife have five children.
“God is good for sure,” he said last year. “If it wasn’t for him, I’d be dead.”
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