Husband died after working on ‘American Horror Story’ set. Now his widow is suing

A woman’s husband died soon after working on the set of “American Horror Story” in Massachusetts where the TV series was filming in early 2021, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed in federal court.

She blames the production companies involved, including Disney, for causing his death.

In late February 2021, Paul Woodward began working long hours driving the show’s film crew back and forth between filming locations in Provincetown and got severely sick with COVID-19, his wife Patricia Woodward says. About a month after leaving work for the hospital in March, he died from the virus on April 18, 2021, according to a complaint.

Patricia Woodward argues the COVID-19 safety measures put in place for workers on the isolated set were ignored, and she is suing the Walt Disney Company, Twentieth Television and Ryan Murphy Productions.

“He passed away on the morning of our 25th anniversary,” Patricia Woodward told NBC10 Boston. “So that day instead of going out to dinner or having champagne, I had to go to the funeral home and look for a casket for him.”

The couple shared two children together, according to one of Patricia Woodward’s attorneys, Jonathan Sweet of the Keches Law Group which represents her.

McClatchy News contacted Disney, which also owns Twentieth Television, for comment on Jan. 13 and didn’t immediately receive a response. Contact information for Ryan Murphy Productions wasn’t immediately available.

“American Horror Story” is a long-running TV series created by Ryan Murphy starring actors including Evan Peters, Kathy Bates, Sarah Paulson and more. The show filmed part of its tenth season in Provincetown, which is located on the tip of Cape Cod, according to the Cape Cod Times.

COVID safety measures weren’t enforced on film set

Upon being assigned to work at the “American Horror Story” set, where hundreds of other employees worked, Paul Woodward tested negative for COVID-19 on Feb. 26, 2021, according to the complaint.

“From the project’s outset, (the film production companies) knowingly violated and failed to enforce their own COVID-19 safety protocols,” the complaint states.

Employees were set to work on the project in Provincetown, where COVID-19 restrictions were enforced at the time, from January 25 to March 13, according to the Cape Cod Times. The town was told by the production companies that it’d follow COVID-19 protocols, the outlet reported.

As a hired driver, Paul Woodward drove a van without a “spit-shield” or barrier that would protect against the spread of COVID-19 — even though one was requested for him, according to the complaint.

Meanwhile, other vans used to transport film crew had protective barriers installed, the lawsuit argues.

“There was no plexiglass barrier separating him from all the passengers. One was requested. The request was denied,” Patricia Woodward’s attorney Sweet told CBS Boston.

Other safety protocols that were supposed to be in place at the film set included mask-wearing for the project’s employees, social distancing and a limit on the amount of passengers allowed inside Paul Woodward’s van. The complaint argues the production companies ignored these protocols.

Additionally, those in charge of filming are accused of not making sure the set was COVID-19 free since they did not test employees, including Woodward, for the virus.

Sweet told CBS Boston that others on the set also came down with COVID-19.

Paul Woodward gets COVID and leaves work for the hospital

While working, Paul Woodward began feeling sick so he went to a hospital on March 13, the complaint states. He tested positive for COVID-19 there and would remain hospitalized until his death a month later at the age of 67, according to his wife.

Patricia Woodward, through her lawsuit, accuses Disney, Twentieth Television and Ryan Murphy Productions of negligence when it came to enforcing COVID-19 protocols, causing her husband’s “premature and wrongful death.”

Alongside negligence, she is also suing for the pain and suffering resulting from her husband’s death, as well as loss of consortium, the complaint shows.

She seeks to recover an unspecified amount of damages and demands a trial by jury.

For 40 years, Paul Woodward was a part of the Teamsters Local 25 labor union in Boston and had worked for its film division over the past nine years, according to the Cape Cod Times.

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