The Jackass cast have endured a long list of gruelling injuries over the course of their careers, with the estimated total cost of their afflictions coming out at $24,263,000.
A new study, commissioned by Nova Legal Funding, has presented approximations for how much has been spent on each of the Jackass cast's injuries, sustained before, during and in-between filming of all series and movies. Johnny Knoxville came out on top with an estimated medical bill of $8.66m, followed by Ehren McGhehey with $7.38m, and Steve-O with $5.82m.
Dave England was next on the "Jackass Injury Rich List" with an estimated injury tab of $1.65m, followed by Jason "Wee Man" Acuña who reportedly tallied up $675k in injuries, rounding out the top five injury-prone pranksters. Bam Margera wasn't included in the study due to ongoing reports regarding his mental health, and his exclusion from Jackass Forever.
To create the list, Nova Legal Funding called upon their internal experts to assess each reported injury sustained by select members of the Jackass cast, to work out the average cost of their injuries. The accumulative total for all injuries came to an estimated $24,263,000, though this figure only accounts for the reported injuries sustained by the main Jackass crew.
The adventurous team have had to break out the bandages and grab the gauze for their on and off set stunts time and time again, with traumas spanning 28 broken bones, 36 head injuries, and one alligator related injury. Knoxville is said to have sustained 16 concussions in his life, including a brain haemorrhage in 2020 during filming for Jackass Forever.
McGhehey, who was the second Jackass member featured on the list of the cast's most expensive injuries, has suffered three broken necks and nine knee surgeries, adding up to around $3.8m alone while Steve-O has fractured his skull, costing an estimated $1.75m in medical bills, and broken his teeth seven times, costing a further $350,000 to repair.
"We wanted to show how much these painful accidents cost in medical bills, so fans of the show can appreciate the financial and medical consequences of living such an adrenaline-fuelled life," said Ron Sinai, founder and CEO of NLF, whose experts estimated the Jackass crew's medical bills to be closer to $38m when taking all other factors into consideration.
Jackass began life as an MTV series that ran from 2000 to 2002 before migrating to the big screen for 2002's Jackass: The Movie. It was followed by two sequels, Jackass 3D in 2010 and Jackass Number Two in 2006, as well as some direct-to-DVD specials, and the 2013 Oscar-nominated spin-off Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa, released 11 years after the first movie.
Paramount announced in 2019 that a fourth Jackass installment was set for production, and scheduled Jackass Forever for March 5, 2021. However, the fourth entry in the extreme stunt franchise has been delayed multiple times, with the most recent calendar shift moving the slapstick reunion from its former October 22, 2021 release date to February 4, 2022.
Adele Ankers is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.