Disney Fined Over Death On New Marvel Show

Tragically, Osorio was working on the Wonder Man set when he fell to his death on February 6. This was enough to result in a Cal/OSHA investigation to determine exactly what caused the man’s death and to discover who (if anyone) might be responsible. Their investigation concluded that Disney was responsible for creating the unsafe working conditions on the Wonder Man set that led to the man’s death.

Osorio died after he fell through a rotten catwalk in Studio City’s Radford Studio Center, and the investigation concluded that the wood had deteriorated and that the catwalk attached to the roof support was not properly nailed down. “The deteriorated ledger was weakened likely due to age, environmental conditions and repeated stress loads over many decades,” the investigation summarized. “Suddenly, and without warning, the ledger supporting the floorboard broke apart and collapsed as the employee was standing on this section of catwalk,” causing him to plummet 41 feet to his death.

As a result of their investigation into this Wonder Man set death, Cal/OSHA issued two serious citations against Disney, each for $18,000. Additionally, they issued Radford Studio Center with two separate citations for $22,500. Disney did not issue a comment but will most likely appeal the citations they were given.

Even if the appeal fails, a $36,000 fine is basically just a drop in the bucket for Disney, but the larger threat to the huge studio is arguably the potential hit to their public image. Tales of this Wonder Man set death already went viral months ago thanks to the eyewitness accounts of the accident that were published in February. Disney recently made bad headlines infinitely worse after a man was allegedly served fatally allergic food at a Disney Springs restaurant and the company tried to have the wrongful death lawsuit tossed out because the deceased once had a Disney+ trial subscription.

For Disney, the silver lining seems to be that they aren’t being sued (at least, not yet) by Osorio’s family after the Wonder Man accident resulting in his death. His widow and mother have instead sued Radford City Studios for unspecified damages because the facility should have already known that their catwalks “were in a dilapidated condition and in desperate need of repair.” Radford’s lawyers have, in turn, claimed that Osorio’s death could have been caused by other factors, including the negligence of himself and/or others.

While it sounds like Disney managed to avoid another ugly lawsuit, Wonder Man now having a high-profile death may sabotage the show’s chances of succeeding. It was already delayed by last year’s strikes and does not currently have a release date, so we don’t know when this Marvel show starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in the title role will even see the light of day. Here’s hoping Disney can drum up some more goodwill from audiences before then or they may find that their cinematic universe is a bit like their catwalks: dangerously rotted and in need of replacement.

Source: Variety