James Bond filming accident leads to compensation claim

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Daniel CraigImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Daniel Craig, who played James Bond in Spectre, also filmed in Austria for the film

A man who suffered "career-ending injuries" during filming of the James Bond film Spectre has launched a High Court compensation claim.

Terry Madden, of Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire, was working as an assistant director in Austria in 2015.

He says his legs were crushed after a Range Rover skidded out of control.

Mr Madden's lawyers said he should be compensated for injuries that "ultimately ended his successful and celebrated career".

"He is highly regarded in the film industry for his work on the Bond films and many other blockbuster movies dating back over 45 years to the original Star Wars in 1976," law firm Stewarts said.

Mr Madden, who was working as second unit assistant director, is claiming against B24 and Eon Productions, the companies behind the 007 franchise.

'Horrendous accident'

Giving details of the damages claim, his lawyers said that on 17 February 2015 the unit was filming action sequences of an aeroplane flying through a valley in the Austrian Alps using a remotely-operated camera rig-mounted on a Range Rover

At the end of one of the shots, the vehicle skidded out of control and hit Mr Madden, pinning him against a camera rostrum and crushing his legs.

Mr Madden said: "I felt privileged and proud to work and be part of an active, exciting but hard-working industry, at times sacrificing family life.

"Then to have a career you worked hard over many years to build up, taken away within a few seconds in this horrendous accident, has been soul-destroying. It has limited my mobility greatly and I am unable to do things I once took for granted."

Lawyer Julian Chamberlayne said: "It has now become necessary to issue High Court proceedings to ensure that the insurers fully compensate Terry for his injuries which have ultimately ended his successful and celebrated career."

Eon Productions has been approached for comment.