Taylor Hickson, a young actress, has sued the production company behind the indie horror film Ghostland after she suffered a serious facial injury on set. The injury happened during filming in Winnipeg, Canada, when Hickson fell through a glass door.
The 19-year-old actress was performing an intense scene where she had to hit a glass door repeatedly. According to the lawsuit filed last Friday at the Queen’s Bench in Winnipeg, the director asked Hickson to pound harder on the glass, even though she was close to it.
The suit says the director, Pascal Laugier, kept telling Hickson to hit the glass harder. Hickson asked if it was safe, and both the director and a producer said yes. Despite these assurances, the glass broke during a take. Hickson’s head and upper body went through the shattered door. She suffered deep cuts to the left side of her face and had to get about 70 stitches at the hospital.
Hickson described the accident, saying a crew member used napkins to hold her face together because of the heavy bleeding. She called the experience “mass amounts of insecurity” and expressed anger that no safety precautions were taken during what became her last day on set.
The film, also known as Incident in a Ghost Land, is scheduled for release in France soon. Ironically, the movie’s promotional poster shows a young woman’s face broken and scarred by glass.
The lawsuit details that Hickson has undergone laser and silicone treatments but still has permanent scars on her face more than a year later. It is unclear if plastic surgery could improve the appearance.
Before the accident, Hickson had appeared in the film Deadpool and was considered a busy and rising actor. The injury forced her to stop working for a time, causing her to lose income.
The lawsuit claims the production company, Incident Productions, ignored the dangers on set. It argues the injury was foreseeable and caused by the company’s negligence and failure to follow safety rules.
Hickson’s legal claim highlights that industry standards require using safety glass that shatters without sharp pieces or employing stunt doubles for dangerous scenes. The suit states neither measure was taken during the filming of this scene.
Beyond physical harm, Hickson continues to suffer mental distress because of the injury and the trauma of the accident.
The film’s premiere is set for March 14 in Paris, but Hickson will not attend. She described the film as a hard project she worked on, making this ending “bittersweet.” She hopes to reunite with co-star Emilia Jones, who played her sister in the movie. Jones and her mother cared for Hickson after the accident.
Hickson said attending the premiere would be too uncomfortable emotionally and physically. She still looks forward to seeing her co-star again, even if she cannot join the public event.
