As reported by Deadline, a production assistant on The CW’s Batwoman has been paralyzed from the waist down after an on-set injury just days before everything was shut down to avoid the spread of the coronavirus. The PA, Amanda Smith (who is also a comedian in Vancouver), was reportedly standing with her back to a lift that had begun to lower, but due to nearby traffic noise, she couldn’t hear it until it was too late and it had lowered onto her head. She suffered spinal injuries and was rushed to a hospital for emergency surgery, but apparently it won’t be clear if the surgery was successful until Smith starts doing physical therapy.
Her colleague Tyler Mancuzzo has set up a GoFundMe page to “help to make ends meet until she settles,” saying he and other friends “do not want her to have to worry about finances as she goes through these uncertain times.” The page has already passed its initial $50,000 goal and is currently sitting just under $60,000 with a new goal of $100,000.
Deadline also says that the Batwoman producers have reached out to Smith to “offer assistance,” and Warner Bros. TV is working with the relevant authorities “to provide any and all requested information” as they investigate what happened.