The production team on ‘Maze Runner: The Death Cure’ failed to secure Dylan O’Brien’s safety prior to his accident on set, according to an investigation carried out by WorkSafeBC.
The 24-year-old star was dragged under a vehicle whilst shooting scenes for the next instalment of the franchise in Cache Creek airport in Aschcroft, Canada and the report – obtained by The Globe and Mail newspaper – states "minimal instruction" was offered to the movie star and a safety lanyard was too short, resulting in O’Brien "being pulled off the front vehicle and then being suspended above the ground between the two."
It adds that changes were made to a "planned and rehearsed" action scene on March 17 when the accident took place so that the scene could be completed in one sequence instead of two.
The report reads: "When the change was made to the sequence, there was no meeting held to review the changes with all involved. The worker performing the action sequence received minimal instruction on this new action sequence.
"The change to the action sequence increased the risk of injury as the transition was now between two vehicles that were not connected."
Twentieth Century Fox has fully co-operated with the investigation and now has until June 15 to respond with a report on managing possible scenarios better.
However, they also carried out a separate investigation, which revealed the scene had been thoroughly rehearsed and "successfully completed approximately five times prior to the accident."
Chief Executive and Communications Officer, Chris Petrikin, said Twentieth Century Fox doesn’t agree with all of WorkSafeBC’s findings but their primary concern is the actor’s full recovery.
He said in a statement: "While we don’t agree with all of the findings of the Inspection Report, we deeply regret that this terrible accident occurred and the serious injuries it caused to Dylan O’Brien.
"We have been working with WorkSafeBC to try and correct some inaccuracies in the Inspection Report and appreciate WorkSafe’s willingness to discuss our concerns. Our primary concern now is Dylan’s full recovery from this accident."
The actor has not made any posts on his Twitter account since the accident, and a previous report from WorkSafeBC described his injuries as "concussion, facial fracture and lacerations".
Production on the movie – in which he plays Thomas, the leader of a group of people trying to survive after the Earth has been devastated by a solar flare – has been shutdown indefinitely and its release date pushed back by almost a year to January 2018.
Production team failed to ensure Dylan O’Brien’s safety on Maze Runner: The Death Cure
