EXCLUSIVE: 'Survivor' Producers Were 'Nowhere to Be Found' as Contestant Was Mauled by Boat and 'Lost His Leg,' Attorney Claims in $100Million Lawsuit

A 'Survivor' contestant who lost his leg during filming is suing the show.
Sept. 24 2026, Published 4:10 p.m. ET
A Survivor contestant who is suing the show after he lost his leg in a freak spearfishing accident says producers were "nowhere to be found" following his debilitating injury, RadarOnline.com can report.
Stavros Floros has filed a $100million lawsuit against the reality show's production company, which his lawyer says is responsible for his life being forever changed.
Stavros Floros Says Survivor Producers 'Ignored the Dangers'

Stavros Floros was injured when a boat propeller struck him while spearfishing.
Floros was competing on the 13th season of the Greek version of the CBS series on Saona Island in the Dominican Republic earlier this year when the 21-year-old went spearfishing during a break from filming.
That's when the propellers of a passing tourist boat accidentally tore into him, partially amputating his left leg below the knee and causing significant trauma to his right ankle.
Floros has now filed a massive lawsuit against the producers, accusing them of ignoring dangers in the waters and failing to protect the show's competitors.
"This was a preventable incident had the producers of Survivor Greece attended to the safety of the cast and the area in which Stavros was made to live and compete, including having to sustain himself and other cast members by spearfishing off the coast, in waters that should have been protected from outside boat traffic," his attorney, Jason Margulies, Partner at Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman, told Radar.
The Boat That Struck Stavros Was the First to Help Him

His lawyer blames producers for not being there when the accident occurred.
Floros alleges in his lawsuit that the waters surrounding contestants lacked safety boats, warning markers, or a closed-off area to fish safely. Showrunners were also "nowhere to be seen" right after the terrifying accident.
"The producers automated much of the camera work and recording at times, which resulted in no members of the production team monitoring the condition, activities, and safety of the contestants in real time," Margulies said.
In fact, the same tourist boat that struck Floros was the first to respond, as the vessel's passengers pulled him up onto their ship and applied a tourniquet that, according to the lawsuit, "kept him alive" before transporting him to a local medical facility.
"Stavros was tended to by the people on the boat which injured him - because the production team was not in the area of production at the time of the incident - when production should have been actively monitoring the condition and safety of the contestants," Margulies said.
Stavros Floros Thought He Was Going to Die

Floros was awarded the season's grand prize after his injury.
Floros said after the boat clipped him he thought he was going to die, and began to pray in the water for help.
"It was like crazy feeling," Floros told NewsNation's Paula Froelich. "The feeling of dying is like so scary. You can’t explain with words. Only a person that has lived that can understand it."
Production of the show was ultimately shut down as a result of Floros' injury, which he says required multiple surgeries and a two-month hospital stay.
'The Producers Failed Stavros'


He said he thought he was going to die.
Eventually, producers decided to award Floros the season's $291,000 grand prize. But he is now demanding more than $100million in damages from Turkish media company Acun Medya, as well as its subsidiaries, for negligence, civil conspiracy and violations of maritime law.
"The producers failed Stavros in every which way - before, during, and after the incident," Margulies said. "And Stavros will constantly remember that as he is left facing the challenges of living with catastrophic injuries."
Producers have defended their response and their actions, claiming the contestant was "spearfishing outside the competitive process of the reality show."
"From the very first moment, there was an immediate response to provide assistance and safely transport the injured contestant, while the competent port authorities are investigating the causes of the incident in order to fully determine the circumstances," the company said in a statement.



