The estate of The Walking Dead stuntman John Bernecker has been awarded $8.6 million in civil damages in his wrongful death trial.
A jury reached a verdict on Thursday (December 19) in Georgia, People reports.
While AMC Networks was found not liable or negligent in John‘s death, the jury did find the Walking Dead production company Stalwart Films and some crew members — including John — partially responsible.
John died in July 2017 after a falling over 20 feet onto a cement floor while on set during production of season eight.
“My sincere hope is this verdict sends a clear message regarding the need to both elevate and strictly adhere to industry safety standards every day, on every shoot, on every film set,” attorney Jeffrey Harris, who represented John’s family, said in a statement. “John’s tragic and preventable death happened as a result of a series of safety-related failures. Learning from these failures will go a long way in making sure that similar tragedies do not happen to another performer or another family.”
”There is no winning or losing in this situation, this was a terrible and tragic accident and our sympathies continue to go out to John Bernecker’s family and friends,” AMC said in a statement. “The set of The Walking Dead is safe and is managed to meet or exceed all industry standards and guidelines related to stunts and stunt safety. That has been the case across the production of 10 seasons and more than 150 episodes, and it continues to be the case today, notwithstanding this very sad and isolated accident.”
READ MORE: ‘Walking Dead’ Stuntman’s Mother Files Lawsuit Accusing AMC of Cutting Corners