'Resident Evil' stuntwoman sues producers after film stunt results in injuries, amputation

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An English stuntwoman who suffered severe injuries filming a motorcycle stunt for 2016’s “Resident Evil: The Final Chapter” says she hasn’t received needed medical support and is suing the film’s producers.

Olivia Jackson, stunt double for star Milla Jovovich, who plays Alice, was filming a scene in South Africa in 2015 when the motorcycle she was riding crashed into a camera that wasn’t raised in time, as had been planned, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles.

The lawsuit says Jackson suffered “catastrophic injuries,” had to have her left arm amputated and “had to be placed into a coma while doctors performed life-saving surgery.” Producers reneged on a promise to pay medical costs, it states.

Two producers, Jeremy Bolt and Paul Anderson, who also wrote and directed the movie, are named in the lawsuit, as is production company Impact Pictures. USA TODAY left a message Thursday seeking comment from the company and the producers.

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According to the lawsuit’s description of the accident, Jackson was scheduled to shoot a fight scene, but a last-minute change altered the assignment to “a dangerous and technically complex motorcycle scene in adverse weather conditions.”

A camera attached to a crane that was supposed to rise as Jackson rode toward it didn’t elevate in time, resulting in the “horrific accident,” the lawsuit says. 

Jackson’s lawyer, Stuart Fraenkel, says his client suffers from severe pain, requires surgery that will cost from $750,000 to $1 million and lost her livelihood. Civil lawsuits in California don’t list a dollar amount sought, he said.

“The Final Chapter,” the sixth and last movie in the “Resident Evil” franchise, grossed more than $300 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.

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According to the lawsuit, the defendants did not arrange for adequate insurance coverage and the total available to Jackson, a former model, was about $33,000, just a fraction of her medical costs. The coverage limit for the stuntwoman’s earnings loss “was a paltry $992.”

The lawsuit says the defendants failed to provide adequate insurance, as promised, to cover Jackson’s medical expenses and lost earnings and also broke an oral agreement to cover the medical costs. Jackson agreed to delay taking legal action while awaiting the promised financial support, it states.

Jackson, who was scheduled to work as a stunt double for “Wonder Woman,” was in South Africa when a “Final Chapter” stuntwoman was injured but “wasn’t convinced that she wanted the job” when asked to fill in.

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