A prime male mannequin is suing for £4.1m over claims he was mind broken when he ran right into a colleague throughout a Chanel beachwear shoot.
Andrew Cooper, 43, was filming an advert on the sands at Puglia, Italy, in 2020 for the Chanel group’s Orlebar Brown luxurious beachwear model when he was damage.
Instructed to run down a dune to the seashore, Mr Cooper collided with one other mannequin and was left concussed on the sand, he says.
He claims the accident induced him a mind harm which has critically hampered his profession as a top-level mannequin, social media influencer and actor.
Having discovered fame because the star of an iconic Weight loss plan Coke hunk advert in 2013, the place he performed a horny gardener. Mr Cooper went on to work with prime manufacturers like Dunhill and Armani, and walked runways for Versace, Dolce & Gabbana and Ralph Lauren.
Seen right here in his Weight loss plan Coke position, he says the accident induced him an harm which damage his profession
Mr Cooper went on to work with prime manufacturers like Dunhill, Armani, Versace and Dolce & Gabbana
He’s suing Orlebar Brown Ltd for £4.1m over the influence he says the accident had on him
However he says he has since needed to flip down some high-paying work as a result of ongoing results of the accident.
On the Excessive Courtroom in London, he’s now suing Orlebar Brown Ltd for £4.1m compensation over the devastating influence he says the accident had on his profession.
The high-end model – identified for tailor-made, photograph print swimshorts which retail for as much as £395 a pair – denies legal responsibility.
Nevertheless, the corporate – which was purchased by the Chanel Group in 2018 – additionally blames the company behind the shoot, the Tom Hingston Studio Ltd.
However the studio additionally denies any blame, with barrister John Williams telling the Excessive Courtroom final week that ‘accidents occur with out negligence.’
In response to Mr Cooper’s declare, he was filming with a number of different fashions on the golden sands of Puglia, in southern Italy, in September 2020.
He and one other mannequin have been instructed to run down a sand dune to the seashore, however collided, inflicting him life-changing accidents, he says.
He claims he was left with post-concussion syndrome and a gentle traumatic mind harm, with consequent psychological signs together with anxiousness, panic assaults and melancholy.
He additionally suffered harm in his ear and now has a steadiness dysfunction which causes migraines and complications, his attorneys say.
He additionally suffered harm in his ear and now has a steadiness dysfunction which causes complications
Mr Cooper’s declare consists of misplaced revenue, having beforehand earned as a lot as £280,000
His attorneys say he has needed to flip down profitable contracts in the event that they concerned flashing lights, studying traces or motion scenes
A lot of Mr Cooper’s declare is for misplaced previous and future revenue, having beforehand earned as a lot as £280,000-a-year, the court docket heard.
His attorneys say he has needed to flip down profitable contracts when the work entails flashing lights, studying traces or motion.
‘The claimant is someone who was a extremely wanted male mannequin working for Orlebar Brown and had different enterprise pursuits and a few fascinating sidelines like being a social media influencer,’ stated his barrister John-Paul Swoboda.
‘One other a part of the declare is he was commencing an appearing profession. He was an entrepreneurial man and there have been many strings to his bow.
‘The quantum of the declare is complicated, however it’s excessive worth within the sense that the preliminary schedule states £4.1m.’
Mr Swoboda stated the mannequin, who lives in Berkshire, is suing Orlebar Brown for breach of the phrases of their contract.
‘We are saying the contract imposes strict duties on the defendant to the claimant – for instance, to take all steps mandatory to make sure that the mannequin is protected,’ he advised decide, Grasp Simon Brown, in a preliminary listening to.
That meant the ‘highest requirements of well being and security,’ extra than simply doing what’s ‘affordable’ to maintain fashions secure, he stated.
He was filming an advert on the sands at Puglia, Italy (file image)
He and one other man have been advised to run down a sand dune to the seashore, however collided (file image)
Orlebar Brown is thought for its photograph print swimshorts which retail for as much as £395 a pair
For Orlebar Brown, barrister Arun Katyar stated the corporate would contest the breach of contract allegation and that it has ‘some disquiet’ in regards to the measurement of Mr Cooper’s declare.
Nevertheless, the corporate additionally factors the finger on the Tom Hingston Studio, claiming the shoot was carried out negligently.
However for the studio, Mr Williams denied any negligence, declaring that the lead-up to, and aftermath of, the accident was caught on digital camera.
Taking challenge with any suggestion that the fashions had been requested to undertake a ‘stunt of the sort James Bond would undertake,’ he described the video footage.
He stated the clip confirmed Mr Cooper and one other mannequin working down the dune, having been instructed to separate at a ‘grassy knoll.’
‘They have been advised to separate on the grassy knoll – one goes to the suitable, one to the left – and to proceed descending down the dune to the seashore and to jog, or introduce somewhat little bit of motion,’ he stated.
‘They do this eight instances with out incident.’
Nevertheless, the conflict got here off digital camera when the 2 fashions collided, he stated. When the digital camera pans to them, Mr Cooper is on the sand, aware and smiling, earlier than they rise up and stroll off.
‘That is it,’ he stated. ‘That is what this case is about. There’s nearly no dispute on the info.
‘There’s nothing to see when it comes to negligence. The instruction was to run right down to the seashore individually.
‘Accidents occur with out negligence and that shall be our case.’
The case reached court docket for a preliminary listening to coping with how the case will proceed, with the decide, Grasp Brown, ordering that problems with legal responsibility be determined first at a four-day trial subsequent yr.
In an out of doors court docket assertion, father-of-two Mr Cooper stated he felt ‘fully let down’ due to what occurred to him.
‘This incident…has induced my entire life to be turned the other way up, impacting on how I can perform each professionally and personally, as a husband and father, and amongst my wider household and friendships,’ he stated.
‘My expertise and the challenges I’ve confronted present that head accidents, post-concussion signs and the long-lasting influence they will have on psychological well being should be taken critically by the style and movie business.’
A call on whether or not Orlebar Brown or the Tom Hingston Studio have been at fault shall be made at a four-day trial set to happen within the first half of subsequent yr.
If Mr Cooper is profitable, a choice on the quantum of damages to be paid could be made at one other trial, if not agreed.
