Jury Award in 'Walking Dead' Stuntman Fatality Suit

A Gwinnett County, GA, jury awarded $8.6 million to the family of a stuntman killed during the production of a Walking Dead TV-series episode in 2017. Bernecker v. Stalwart Films LLC, 18-C-00435-1.

Lawyers for defendants AMC Networks and production company Stalwart Films had argued that John Bernecker's death in a fall from a balcony during a staged fight was an unforeseen accident that happened when the trained stuntman missed a landing pad 25 feet below. The accident happened on location in Senoia in Coweta County, GA.

Bernecker's parents, Susan and Hagen Bernecker, sued AMC, Stalwart and several other defendants involved in the show's production, claiming they skimped on safety measures for financial and scheduling concerns.

The verdict came after a weeklong trial before Gwinnett County State Court Judge Emily Brantley. The jury cleared AMC of liability along with the actor Austin Amelio, who was pretending to fight with Bernecker during the scene. The verdict apportioned 40% of the fault to Stalwart, 25% to TWD Productions VIII, 15% to executive producer Tom Luse, 10% to assistant director Jeff January and 4% to stunt coordinator Marty Simons.

Bernecker himself was deemed 6% at fault for the accident.

The plaintiffs were represented by Jeffrey Harris and Yvonne Godfrey of Harris Lowry Manton, Rebecca Harris of Franklin Law in Savannah, Gerald Davidson Jr. of Mahaffey Pickens Tucker in Lawrenceville, and Pete Law and Brian Kaplan of Law & Moran in Atlanta.

In a statement, Harris said 33-year-old John Bernecker "was a remarkably talented stunt professional who had an incredibly bright future in the film industry. My sincere hope is this verdict sends a clear message regarding the need to both elevate and strictly adhere to industry safety standards every day, on every shoot, on every film set.

"John's tragic and preventable death happened as a result of a series of safety-related failures. Learning from these failures will go a long way in making sure that similar tragedies do not happen to another performer or another family."

All of the defendants were represented by Jackson Dial, David Dial and Joshua Wood of the law firm Weinberg, Wheeler, Hudgins Gunn & Dial. Jackson Dial said they planned to appeal, but had no further comment.

In a statement, AMC said: "There is no winning or losing in this situation, this was a terrible and tragic accident and our sympathies continue to go out to John Bernecker's family and friends.

"The set of 'The Walking Dead' is safe and is managed to meet or exceed all industry standards and guidelines related to stunts and stunt safety. That has been the case across the production of 10 seasons and more than 150 episodes, and it continues to be the case today, notwithstanding this very sad and isolated accident."

The trial opened with a drama of its own. Arguing started before it was time — during opening statements — resulting in the Judge Brantley sending the jury out of the courtroom. This happened after the fourth objection from Bernecker counsel Jeffrey Harris. Once the jury was out of the room, the lawyers got into it.

"This is the best closing argument I've ever seen, but it doesn't remotely resemble an opening statement," Harris said of his opponent David Dial.

"I realize I may have gotten argumentative," Dial said. "I apologize. I'm very passionate about this case."

"You have, Mr. Dial, Judge Brantley replied. "You've been arguing throughout this opening."

The trial judge then offered a quick refresher course, instructing Dial to simply tell the jury in his opening what he expects the evidence to show. She stopped short of granting a request from Harris to admonish the defense in the presence of the jury for rule-breaking, agreeing with Dial that such a measure would be "prejudicial."

"I'm not going to give a curative instruction because I believe it will be harmful to the defense," Judge Brantley said. "If you do it again — and Mr. Harris objects — I will."

Before the judge brought the jury back, the lawyers went through photos and pulled some slides that Harris contended were being used to refute and rebut the case he had not yet had the chance to present.

"You don't want the jury to know about this. I get it," Dial said to Harris as they reworked slides.

"It's going to be a long week," Harris responded with a sigh.

Harris would ask the jury for damages equal to the full value of the life of stunt performer Bernecker, who had 100 credits and his own company.

Harris told the jury in his opening statement that the evidence would show Bernecker was shortchanged on safety. The set lacked a sufficiently large catcher system, spotters and a stunt safety representative to prevent mishaps, he said.

"This death could have been prevented for $500," Harris claimed.

Dial put the blame on Bernecker, saying the stuntman missed the soft landing target because he grabbed the balcony railing before he fell. "Unfortunately, Mr. Bernecker made a mistake — for reasons no one can explain," Dial said. "Hanging on is what took him away from the safety of the mat."

Bernecker died from the 25-foot stunt fall off a balcony for Episode 807 of Walking Dead on July 12, 2017. The complaint alleged that AMC "put pressure" on Stalwart "to produce episodes of The Walking Dead as cheaply as possible" and "orchestrated a pattern of filming and producing The Walking Dead cheaply and, ultimately, unsafely." Berneckers' parents accused defendants of "cutting corners" on safety precautions, including the "apple box" used to give stunt performers additional height or leverage to control falls and the area of padding below to prevent contact with the ground. The legal complaint said the "port-a-pit" pads on top of 22-inch cardboard boxes tied together by rope did not fully extend under the balcony, and that no air bags or spotters were in place to avert disaster.

Dial told the jury that Bernecker could have asked for a bigger landing system or a taller apple box, but he didn't, and had even directed the pads to be moved further away from the balcony. It was unforeseen that something would go wrong and that he would land under it instead where no pads were located, Dial said.

In another dramatic flourish, Dial tried to personify his corporate clients by introducing the individuals also being sued. He had all four stand while he went through the credentials of each one. He said they together have more than 100 years of experience in television filming and production. He said they felt terrible about, weren't at fault for what happened.

A major point of contention in the trial was whether actor Austin Amelio, performing on the balcony with Bernecker, touched him. The instructions were to fake shooting and shoving Bernecker off the balcony. The parents alleged the Amelio actually did what he was meant to only pretend doing, throwing off the trajectory of the fall. Dial said his clients contended Amelio made no such contact and that it just looked that way in the video because that was the goal of the scene.

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Greg Land is a reporter for The Daily Report, an Atlanta-based ALM sibling publication of Entertainment Law & Finance. Katheryn Hayes Tucker is an Atlanta-based reporter covering legal news for the Daily Report and other ALM publications.