Relatives Insist T3 Accident Caused by Negligence, Bad Welding

Indiana OSHA cleared Paramount Pictures of any wrongdoing on Wednesday

The family of a Chicago woman severely injured in an accident on the set of "Transformers 3" insists the incident was caused by negligence and faulty welding.

Their assertion comes a day after officials from the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration cleared Paramount Pictures of any wrongdoing. 

Gabriela Cedillo was working as an extra in Hammond, Ind., when a cable welded to a stunt car snapped, flew through the air and crashed into the  windshield of her car.  Cedillo's skull was sliced open and she was left permanently brain damaged, paralyzed on her left side and with her left eye stitched shut, a lawsuit filed on her behalf claims.

"This was completely foreseeable. When bad welds occur, when negligence occurs, it's foreseeable someone is going get hurt. The fact is they were improper, they were poorly done," said family attorney Todd Smith.

Indiana OSHA on Wednesday said officials with the film wouldn't face any fines or citations related to the Sept. 1 accident, saying that all necessary safety precautions were in place.  The agency said the weld connecting the stunt car to a tow cable was made by a certified welder.

But Chris Farrone, a mechanical engineer working with Gabriela Cedillo's attorney, called the weld "superficial." 

"When you look at it, it looks like it's welded.  But because there is no fusion of the two pieces, it has no strength," he said.

Gabriella continues to recover at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

Earlier this week, another accident occurred on set in Washington, D.C. when a police officer unaware of filming collided with a stunt car while driving to an emergency.  No one was seriously injured.

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