(Newser)
–
A horrific accident on the Transformers 3 set left extra Gabriella Cedillo, then 24, without "about a third of the top of her head," according to her attorney; now she has settled for $18.5 million. "She will be taken care of. I wouldn't have resolved this case if I didn't think so," her attorney says. Cedillo was one of about 80 extras who were paid $25 to drive their own vehicles on a vacated street in Indiana on Sept. 1, 2010, when a cable pulling one of the stunt vehicles snapped, went through her windshield, and hit her head.
Attorneys for the aspiring actress claimed a "completely inadequate superficial weld had been applied in a failed effort to secure the bracket to the [stunt] car," and added that Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Studios didn't have a permit for fireworks or explosive devices. Her initial bills of $350,000 were not covered by the studios, though Cedillo's lawyers say the studios had originally agreed to pay, NBC Chicago reports. She sustained permanent brain impairment, does not remember the accident, and is currently undergoing rehabilitation therapy.
