CAL-OSHA FINES DISNEY IN FILM DEATH; COMPANY ORDERED TO PAY $5,405 FOR SAFETY VIOLATIONS.

Byline: Eric Wahlgren Daily News Staff Writer

Ending a two-month probe, state investigators have cited The Walt Disney Co. for four safety violations after a freak accident in February led to the electrocution of a crew member and the injury of another, officials said Tuesday.

The most serious citation issued Monday found that the company - listed in state documents as a Disney division called Spikes Up Productions Inc. - failed to respect required safety distances between a camera boom and a 115,000-volt power line.

Matthew Gordy, 31, of Woodland Hills, was killed and David Riggio, 33, of Encino, was badly burned Feb. 25 when the metal camera hoist they were handling swung into the power line while they were filming a Disney movie.

The citations, which carry a total fine of $5,405, also found that the company failed to provide proper training for the equipment operators and neglected to post a safety warning sign at the remote San Bernardino County movie location.

``Obviously, the serious citation is directly related to the fatality,'' said Dean Fryer, a spokesman for the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration in San Francisco. ``The other three citations are related to safety regulations that are meant to help prevent injury or fatalities of employees. Since those safety regulations were violated, that very well could have led to the more serious violation.''

Terry Curtin, a Disney spokeswoman, declined to comment on the fines, saying the company does not discuss legal matters. Shortly after the incident occurred in an area known as ``Poison Canyon'' south of Trona, Disney officials said they would cooperate fully with Cal-OSHA's probe.

Fryer said Disney has 15 days to pay the fines or appeal the citations, which determine only if state regulations have been violated and not whether specific individuals are at fault. The citations were formally issued Monday but Fryer said all the violations had already been corrected.

Gordy's widow, Krista, deferred comment to her attorney, saying only that she was now doing her best to raise her young daughter without her husband.

``I'm hanging in there,'' said Gordy, who is expecting another child in five months.

Larry Feldman, who is representing the Gordy family in a wrongful death suit against Disney, called the citations expected.

``I am not surprised,'' said Feldman, an attorney with Fogel, Feldman, Ostrov, Ringler and Klevens. ``OSHA's job is to investigate accidents and make a determination as to whether there have been violations of various laws.''

The wrongful death suit, which asks for unspecified damages, claims that the equipment malfunctioned and that Disney was wrong in selecting the site for the filming of its movie ``Dinosaur,'' which combines animation with live action, Feldman said.

Fryer said that Cal-OSHA still does not know exactly what caused the boom - referred to in the documents as a Champman Lenny Arm III - to rise into the air and strike the line. But Fryer revealed that Gordy and Riggio were both on the ground while a third crew member was on a flatbed trailer supporting the boom's base when it came into contact with the electricity.

Several days after the incident, Cal-OSHA officials said they believed Gordy and Riggio were adjusting the boom's counterweight to move the camera when they lost control of the equipment.

The boom, when measured with the trailer, extended to a length of about 50 feet, officials have said. The major cross-country power line was more than 49 feet off the ground.

The most serious citation, which alone carries a fine of $5,000, states that at about 7:20 a.m. the boom came within less than the 13-feet buffer distance required from the high-voltage line.

One citation specifically found that Disney neglected to provide training with the special camera hoist because the equipment was positioned under the power line, representing a ``unique hazard.''

Another citation found that Disney failed to have a warning sign legible at a distance of 12 feet cautioning boom operators that it was unlawful to operate the equipment at a close distance to high-voltage lines.

Fryer said whenever there is a worker fatality, Cal-OSHA officials routinely launch a criminal investigation into the incident. The investigators working a case refer a matter to the courts only if they conclude there was a knowing or willful violation of state safety codes, Fryer said.

After the accident, Gordy was rushed to a nearby hospital, but was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. Riggio was treated at Grossman Burn Center at Sherman Oaks Hospital after suffering second- and third-degree burns over more than 5 percent of his body.