Summary

Disney was fined $36,000 for safety violations after
Wonder Man
crew member Juan Osorio’s tragic death in February. The deteriorated catwalk at Radford Studio Center led to Osorio’s death, a preventable tragedy according to his attorney.
The news follows another death associated with Disney, one due to an allergic reaction at Walt Disney Parks & Resorts.
Friends started a GoFundMe page to help Osorio’s widow with expenses, raising over $191,000 so far.

CAL/OSHA has fined Disney $36,000 in regard to the February 2024 death of Wonder Man crew member Juan Carlos “Spike” Osorio. Osorio, a lighting technician, died on February 6 after falling through a catwalk at Stage 3 of the Radford Studio Center in Studio City. A California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) investigation found that the catwalk had a weakening section of wood that was not properly nailed to a support. Per the investigation’s findings (via Deadline):

“The deteriorated ledger was weakened likely due to age, environmental conditions and repeated stress loads over many decades. 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.”

Erika Contreras is the attorney for Osorio’s widow, Joanne Osorio-Wu, and his mother, Zoila Osorio. The attorney told Variety that the citations prove that Osorio’s death was “100% preventable,” adding that, “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.” They followed a wrongful death lawsuit in May.

Visit the Family’s GoFundMe

Following Osorio’s tragic accident, friends created a GoFundMe page to assist Osorio-Wu, as they expected “a long road fraught with attorney fees and expenses. In the meantime, bills will be mounting and the widow, boom operator Joanne W., will be left to deal with everything.” The fundraiser has collected over $191,000 since launching.

Disney’s Recent Legal Woes
Diseny+

These citations add to Disney’s recent legal troubles. The global media company has recently found itself at the center of several legal headlines. In February, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts guest Jeffrey Piccolo sued the conglomerate after his wife died following a severe allergic reaction while dining at a restaurant at Walt Disney World last year. The company previously argued that since Piccolo had a Disney+ subscription (and thus signed a streaming contract), he could not file a lawsuit against them. The company has since backtracked on that, but is now denying fault as the restaurant was “neither owned nor operated by Disney.”

Of course, there’s also the highly publicized Gina Carano lawsuit, financially backed by Elon Musk. The Mandalorian actress is going after the House of Mouse for discrimination and wrongful termination by Disney and Lucasfilm. The actress was let go from the hit Marvel series after a post comparing the treatment of conservatives to that of the Jewish community during the Holocaust. That complaint is likely headed to trial.

Disney and Radford have 15 business days to appeal the decisions in the Osorio case. They’re expected to appeal, not because of the money, but because of the current wrongful death lawsuit, which they would likely lose if they were indeed found in the wrong by CAL/OSHA. You can read their full report below:

“At 6:50 a.m. on February 6, 2024, an employee was working as an engineering technician for a television and film production company. The employee was working with a crew which included Employee #1 and Employee #2. The crew was working on wooden catwalks located in Stage 3. The crew was collecting and removing lighting cable equipment that was hanging from the wooden platforms. One platform was accessible via a wooden staircase that continued upward and was connected to the other wooden catwalk platforms.

“The walking surface of these catwalks consisted of wooden floorboards of various sizes, including as 2-inch by 6-inch and 2-inch by 8-inch boards. These floorboards were supported underneath by 2-inch by 4-inch wooden supports (sometimes referred to as “ledgers”). A particular section of this catwalk had a deteriorated ledger that was not bearing the 4-inch by 12-inch underlying support beam, but instead was improperly nailed to a roof truss. The deteriorated ledger was weakened likely due to age, environmental conditions and repeated stress loads over many decades.

“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 employee was pronounced dead by responding emergency medical services shortly after the fall. The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, neck and legs.”