Extra slams OSHA in film set injury case

CHICAGO, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- The family of a woman hurt on a film set says remarks made about the mishap by Indiana's Occupational Safety and Health Administration are ridiculous.

Gabriela Cedillo, 24, suffered "severe, open-head trauma" while working as an extra and driving her own car on the set of "Transformers 3" in Hammond, Ind., last month, lawyers for Cedillo said.

Cedillo was allegedly hurt when a cable came loose from a stunt car and stuck her vehicle's windshield.

OSHA said Wednesday its investigation concluded Paramount Pictures properly followed safety procedures. The studio was subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing, NBC Chicago said.

Todd A. Smith, a lawyer for Cedillo's family and a partner in the law firm of Power, Rogers & Smith PC, said both a licensed engineer and a nationally recognized metallurgist had inspected the weld and connections that joined the cable to the stunt car at issue. They concluded the connection between the cable and the bracket on the car was performed in a faulty, negligent and careless fashion, Smith said.

"The family is deeply saddened and disappointed by this ridiculous conclusion by the Indiana Department of OSHA," Smith said in a statement Thursday. "This kind of occurrence is completely foreseeable when sloppy hurried work is done and innocent people are nearby. It is completely irresponsible for even a local government bureaucrat to rush to such sloppy conclusions."