‘Rough Night’ stuntwoman sues studio over watercraft accident
A stuntwoman who worked on the 2017 Sony Pictures comedy “Rough Night” has sued the movie studio for negligence over a watercraft accident in which she was hurt.
Attorneys for Lauren Singer Harper, going by the name Laurie Singer, said she sustained serious injuries in 2016 while filming a scene in Brooklyn that called for her to crash a personal watercraft into the beach at 28 mph and launch herself onto the sand.
Singer, of Hillsborough, N.C., served as Kate McKinnon’s stunt double in the raunchy film, which also starred Scarlett Johansson.
The 13-page complaint, filed Monday in New York Supreme Court in Brooklyn, accused the studio, along with the film’s production companies and stunt coordinators, of failing to place safety pads under the sand to cushion Singer’s impact while performing the stunt.
The suit, which additionally named financier LStar Capital and production firms Matt Tolmach Productions and Paulilu Productions as defendants, also accused the filmmakers of failing to call an ambulance after the incident.
Sony Pictures in Culver City declined to comment.
“The defendant’s actions were reckless, careless, negligent and grossly negligent and showed a gross disregard for the safety of the plaintiff,” Singer’s attorneys wrote in the complaint.
Singer is represented by New York-based firm Wittenstein & Associates and Chicago-based Romanucci & Blandin LLC, which specializes in personal injury matters.
Singer suffered cervical injuries, a traumatic brain injury and vertigo because of the stunt, according to the complaint. She remains incapacitated from her usual duties, her lawyers said, and is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages and legal fees.
The entertainment industry has been grappling with a handful of recent stunt accidents, some of which have been deadly.
In January, the mother of a stuntman who fell to his death last year while working on the hit TV series “The Walking Dead” filed a wrongful death lawsuit against cable network AMC. John Bernecker, 33, was killed on the Georgia set while shooting a scene for the series’ eighth season.
Last August, stuntwoman Joi “S.J.” Harris died after performing a motorcycle stunt for the superhero sequel “Deadpool 2” in Vancouver, Canada.
Inside the business of entertainment
The Wide Shot brings you news, analysis and insights on everything from streaming wars to production — and what it all means for the future.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
