A film production company owned by Disney is to be prosecuted over an incident in which actor Harrison Ford was seriously injured during the filming of Star Wars: The Force Awakens at Pinewood Studios.

Foodles Production (UK) will appear at High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court on May 12 on four charges and will face a fine if found guilty.

Harrison Ford in Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Harrison Ford in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (LucasFilm)

Ford suffered a broken leg and other injuries when he was struck by a heavy hydraulic metal door on the set of the Millennium Falcon spaceship on June 12 2014, when he was 71 years old.

A Health and Safety Executive spokesman said: “The HSE has today informed Foodles Production (UK) Ltd that it will be prosecuted over four alleged breaches of health and safety law.

Harrison Ford (Dominic Lipinski/PA)
Harrison Ford (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

“The charges relate to an incident during filming of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, which left Harrison Ford with serious injuries after he was hit by a heavy hydraulic door.

“By law, employers must take reasonable steps to protect workers – this is as true on a film set as a factory floor.

“We have investigated thoroughly and believe that we have sufficient evidence to bring the case to court.”

Star Wars star Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford (Anthony Devlin/PA)

Foodles Production is responsible under health and safety law for managing the risks created during production, said the HSE.

The star was returning to his role as Han Solo in the movie when he broke his left leg during filming at the world renowned studios, leading to him being airlifted to hospital in Oxford.

Disney is the parent company of Foodles.

The four alleged breaches are two under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, one under Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, and one under Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher
Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher (George Brich/AP)

A spokeswoman for Foodles Production (UK) Ltd said: “Cast and crew safety is always a top priority. We provided full co-operation during HSE’s investigation into the on-set accident that occurred in June 2014 and are disappointed in HSE’s decision.”

George Lucas sold his company, Lucasfilm, to the Walt Disney Co in 2012 for 4.06 billion dollars (£2.7bn), and the studio charged ahead in developing The Force Awakens with director JJ Abrams and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy.

Disney has plans for two more Star Wars films and three anthology films set in the Star Wars universe over the next few years.

The Force Awakens has taken 2,008,361,000 US dollars (£1.38bn) at the worldwide Box Office as of February 7, according to industry body Rentrak.

Ford talked about the incident during an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show before Christmas.

He said in the original film a door would have been closed with a pulley and a stage hand.

“But now we had lots of money and technology and so they built a f*****g great hydraulic door which closed at light speed,” he said.