'Star Wars' producers fined for Ford’s accident

A British production company has been slapped with a 1.6 million pounds fine for an accident on the set of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" that caused injuries to actor Harrison Ford.

The Disney-owned company, Foodles Production, had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of breaking health and safety rules.

While rehearsing a scene at the Pinewood Studios here, Ford was hurt by the hydraulic door of the Millennium Falcon, which broke his left leg. The actor underwent surgery to fix the fractured tibia and fibula bones in his leg, and plastic surgery on a "deep laceration" on his left hand.

Prosecutor Andrew Marshall said on Wednesday that when Ford walked through the door, he believed the set was not live and the door would not close, because it hadn't done so during previous rehearsals.

"The greatest failing of all on behalf of the company is a lack of communication, a lack because, if you have a risk assessment and you do not communicate it, what is the point of having one? That is the most serious breach here," Judge Francis Sheridan, passing sentence at Aylesbury Crown Court here, said.