Hairstylist Sues Rocker Gregg Allman and Movie Producers

A lawsuit filed by a hairstylist injured on the film set of “Midnight Rider” -- a movie about Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Georgia musician Gregg Allman -- is the latest legal tangle surrounding a fatal accident that happened during filming.

Production for the movie about Allman’s music career was halted in February when a freight train crashed through the site where the crew was filming. Six members of the crew were hurt and one crew member was killed.

Joyce Gilliard, 43, of Summerville, SC, was a hairstylist on set when the accident occurred, and has sued the singer and the film’s producers for injuries she suffered from the train crash, according to Savannah Now.

Savannah Now reports that Gilliard’s lawsuit filed Wednesday did not describe her injuries, but she had stated previously that the accident left her with a fractured arm.

“The pressure from the train was so strong it pulled me off what I was holding onto and it snapped my arm,” Gilliard said during a conference call on workplace safety April 23, Savannah Now reports. “I immediately grabbed my arm and wrapped it up with a piece of the prop, which was a sheet.”

Last week, the parents of Sarah Jones, the camera assistant who was killed on the set by the passing train, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the production.

A previous Patch story reported that Jones, 27, died Feb. 20 and her death prompted a widespread social media campaign called “Slates for Sarah” to honor her. Camera crews all over the world wrote her name on film slates -- the board that claps together and marks the beginning of a scene -- and posted pictures to social media.

Allman himself had recently sued producers of the movie in an effort to regain the rights to his life story, another Patch story reported. Allman’s attorneys argued that director Randall Miller’s actions had harmed the musician’s reputation.

Miller had said in court that it had been his assistants’ responsibilities to secure location permits and take safety precautions.

Gilliard is not only suing the Allman and producers of “Midnight Rider,” according to Savannah Now, but also Rayonier, the company that owned the land surrounding the railroad tracks where the crew was filming and CSX railroad, the owner of the tracks.

Savannah Now reported that Gilliard’s lawyers claim the railroad knew filming was happening around the area and conductors should have been more careful.

Allman had no role in the filming location, according to Long-Daniels, the newspaper reported. Spokeswomen for Miller and CSX declined to comment. A spokesman for Rayonier did the same.