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The Walking Dead: Stuntman’s Family Asks Jury for Up To $100 Million in Damages

We previously reported that The Walking Dead was in trial last week and the earlier part of this week, defending the case against allegations that it was at fault for the death of stuntman, John Bernecker. We also discussed the issues. The case is now in the jury’s hands after the completion of closing arguments.

Attorney Jeff Harris, representing the family of the stuntman killed on the set of The Walking Dead in 2017, said that the jury hould consider damages that total between $40 million and $100 million against AMC and other Defendants.

Bernecker “was going to live 40 to 50 more years,” Harris said in the closing arguments. “What is a year of life worth? …It’s one to two million dollars per year. That is the way the law thinks you should calculate damages, and it is consistent with how we view life in our society.”

Harris also showed a video of Bernecker’s life, featuring shots of him with his family, doing backflips and doing kickboxing moves. The video reflects a “rich full life,” said Harris.

Harris also quoted a line from Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven, “When you take away a man’s life, you take away everything he was and everything he was going to be.”

Finally, Harris also asked the jury to consider punitive damages against the Defendants.

One defendant to the case is star, Austin Amelio, testified last week about the accident, as Amelio was the closest to Bernecker.

Amelio was on the small balcony filming a scene with stuntman John Bernecker in 2017 when Bernecker fell over, missing the protective pads underneath by two feet and landing on the concrete head-first. He died two days later from the severe head injuries.

“I saw the whole thing, I was in complete and utter shock,” Amelio told the jury Friday in emotional testimony at the wrongful death trial of The Walking Dead stuntman. “It was the worst day of my life.”

AMC’s legal team argued Bernecker’s death stemmed from human error on the stuntman’s part when he grasped the rail and held on during his flip off the balcony.

What are your thoughts on the trial? Let us know in the comments below.

One thought on “The Walking Dead: Stuntman’s Family Asks Jury for Up To $100 Million in Damages

  1. As a professionally trained stuntman I believe he should have known exactly what and how to do his job safely and efficiently. I do not believe AMC is too blame.

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