Olivia Jackson has been trying really hard to embrace what life threw at her. She lost her left arm during a stunt while shooting for Resident Evil. She was the stunt double of Milla Jovovich who was the protagonist in the film.
Her tragic story of losing an arm was later met with a lot of difficulties since the production company did not compensate her for her loss and even in a wounded state she was forced to fight against them in the South African High Court.
The Tragic Story of Milla Jovovich’s Stunt Double From Resident Evil Needs Resolution
Olivia Jackson has been a victim of poor management during the film shoot of Resident Evil. Many crew members were of the opinion that she very well knew what she was getting into as a stunt double and that it was her fault and whatnot but in truth, it was the poor management and shot planning that eventually led to the tragic accident.
Jackson won a court ruling in 2020 which made it clear that the blame for the accident was on the driver of the vehicle on which the camera was mounted. However, it was still a limited victory, because in view of the ruling under the South African law, her financial resources are limited to the country’s Road Accident Fund. Reflecting on the same she said:
I’ve had so much taken away from me, I can’t ever work again, I don’t have the job that I was extremely successful in and that I loved so much.
In the shot that changed her life forever, she was supposed to come on a motorcycle towards a camera car with a boom and cross it at the speed of 44mph. For the stunt to happen effortlessly the boom needed to be lifted up precisely at the right time to make way for her to cross and avoid collision, but things did not go as planned and she collided with the camera car, during which her left arm was heavily injured and she scraped her cheek until her teeth were visible.
She woke up 17 days later after a medically induced come in a confused state after a life-saving surgery forbade her from letting go just yet. She still lives on and is getting better but not everything seems to be going in the right direction for her.
Olivia Jackson Still Holds The Production House Accountable
Jackson sued the stunt coordinator and his company Pyranha along with the driver, the boom operator, and stunt vehicle company Bickers Action South Africa (PTY) Ltd. for negligence and the production company, Davis Films/ Impact Pictures.
The defendants denied the claims and proposed that the matter should be covered by the road accident funds and they should be left free. In 2019 the South African dismissed Jackson’s claims against the people she had sued and gave matters into the hands of Road Accident Funds.
Road Accident funds strictly cap compensation for medical expenses and limit the amount of money paid to her to 9% of her annual income. This is a very little amount of money to sustain her throughout her life. What do you think about it? Let us know in the comments below.
