Jonathan Goodwin is suing the makers of ‘America’s Got Talent: Extreme’ over his 2021 accident.
The former stuntman lost a kidney, broke both shoulder blades, shattered both legs, broke his spine and severed his spinal cord during rehearsals for his escape act for the show and he is now filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles against Fremantle, Syco Entertainment, Marathon Productions, Walk About Inc., T-Minus Productions, NBCUniversal and stunt coordinator T.J. White, accusing them of negligence and peculiar risk.
Jonathan – who was left paralysed by the accident – is seeking a jury trial to overhear the dispute.
Court documents filed under the 43-year-old daredevil’s real name, Jonathan Harvey, and obtained by People magazine stated: “Among other actions and inactions, Defendants failed to implement industry safety standards, including, but not limited to, designing and modifying a stunt in a manner that made it highly likely to fail, hiring incompetent individuals to oversee and control the safety of the design and execution of the stunt, improperly controlling the design and execution of the stunt, failing to test the stunt without a live person after modifications were made, failing to implement and require adequate redundancies and suitable airbags (safety nets), and failing to ensure that adequate safeguards were taken to prevent injuries.
“Because of Defendants conscious disregard for the safety of others and for their gross wanton and reckless breaches, Mr. Harvey suffered catastrophic, life-altering injuries.”
Jonathan’s lawyer, Stuart Fraenkel slammed those involved for “putting profits and ratings before safety” and claimed his client was taking action in a bid to force reform in the industry.
He told NBC News in a statement: “The producers and staff working on this show could have taken a number of simple steps to ensure Jonathan’s safety. Instead, the production was rushed, chaotic and staffed by a team that lacked the necessary expertise and experience.
“Jonathan will be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life because there were inadequate safety practices, protocols and procedures in place to protect him.
“He is bringing this claim to bring attention to an ongoing lack of safety problem in the entertainment industry. He hopes that by bringing this claim, lessons will be learned, changes will be made and others in the future will not be exposed to unnecessary risks and danger.”
