Three production companies have been sued by the family of a man who died of COVID-19 after driving a crew van to the set of “American Horror Story” in Massachusetts, where the plaintiffs say protocols were routinely flouted.
The lawsuit filed in federal court Wednesday by Paul Woodward’s family says the Provincetown set failed to follow COVID-19 protocols during the February 2021 production. Woodward contracted the virus and died shortly after working on set as a shuttle driver, according to the lawsuit, for which Woodward’s wife is the lead plaintiff.
The defendants include 20th Century Studios, Ryan Murphy Productions, and The Walt Disney Company. Messages sent to those companies on Friday evening were not immediately returned.
The filing states that Woodward was not given a Plexiglas divider for his van, and that several out-of-state people were crammed into the passenger shuttle, contrary to production rules. It said the “crew, actors, contractors and employees” on the Provincetown set flouted a variety of protocols to prevent the virus from spreading, including social distancing and other company orders preventing gatherings. were.
Patricia Woodward said, “He passed away on the morning of our 25th anniversary.” NBC10 Boston, “So instead of going out for dinner or champagne that day, I had to go to the funeral home and find a casket for her.”
She said that her husband initially tested negative for COVID-19 on the set, but after becoming more and more ill, he was taken to the hospital. He died about five weeks later.
Hundreds of COVID-19-related workplace lawsuits have come to the courts since about 2020, though most relate to issues such as paid leave, discrimination and compensation; Some class-action suits have addressed workplace safety. It immediately determined whether a plaintiff had successfully sued his or her employer after contracting COVID-19 while at work.
