Wittek was a member of Dobrik's 'Vlog Squad' when the incident occurred.
YouTube star David Dobrik is facing a major lawsuit from former Vlog Squad member Jeff Wittek after a 2020 stunt gone wrong.
According to court docs obtained by ET, Wittek is seeking $10 million in damages for "general negligence and intentional tort," alleging that he missed out on work and sustained hospital bills due to the intense injuries he suffered as a result of the incident.
In Wittek's filing, he claims that while being swung on a rope tied to an excavator while filming a video with Dobrik in Provo, Utah, in June 2020, Dobrik spun the construction equipment at "unsafe speeds" before slowing the machine suddenly, causing Wittek to collide with the side of the excavator. Wittek claims he suffered "a myriad of injuries" including a broken skull, facial fractures and eye damage -- something Wittek discussed in his 2021 YouTube docuseries, Don't Try This at Home, where he shared more details about the incident.
In light of his alleged injuries, per the docs, Wittek is seeking both compensatory and punitive damages.
Dobrik addressed the incident in March on his VIEWS video podcast.
"The Jeff thing is the f**king worst," Dobrik said during the episode. "That day is, like, the worst, the worst thing that's ever happened to me and I wish I would f**king do anything to take that day back and be like, I wish it was me up there. And it's a s**tty -- it's an accident. That's what it was. It's an accident."
He later added, "At the end of the day, I was the one f**king driving it. It was my video. He got hurt because I was driving. That's it and I f**king know that and like I said, any chance I would get, I would take that back…That'll be the biggest regret of my life. My entire life. I really hope there's not a moment that I regret as much as that one."
ET has reached out to both Dobrik and Wittek for comment.
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