Many stunt performers are reluctant to report head injuries, study finds

Enlarge / Ryan Gosling in The Fall Guy. (credit: Universal Pictures)

Ryan Gosling plays a Hollywood stuntman in the new action comedy The Fall Guy, a loose adaptation of the popular 1980s TV series of the same name starring Lee Majors. Gosling even did a few of his own stunts, although professional stunt performers handled the most dangerous sequences. It’s their job to assume the risk so the stars don’t get injured but that can translate into a high rate of head injuries in particular. According to a study published in the Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology, a significant fraction of stunt performers never report such injuries, largely because it’s a competitive industry, and they are afraid of losing work. The impacts can lead to more serious cognitive issues later in life.

“Many stunt performers are afraid to report their injuries, especially head trauma, in fear they will be put on a do-not-hire list or looked at as a liability,” said co-author Jeffrey Russell of Ohio University. “The more injuries or trauma, the harder it may be to find work. But that should not be how it is; production companies and their unions should be ensuring stunt performers are taken care of and not reprimanded for any injuries sustained on the job.”

The work builds on Russell’s prior research, published last year, looking at the prevalence of head trauma and concussion in stunt performers and how well such injuries are managed. The prevalence of such injuries means that stunt performers are at high risk for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)—a degenerative brain disease associated with a history of repetitive head impacts that is a cause of much concern in collision sports like football and ice hockey—over the course of their careers.