The family of Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer who died on the set of Rust in New Mexico, has sued Alec Baldwin The incident took place after Alec Baldwin allegedly fired a prop gun. Halyna’s family has now filed a new civil suit against the producers involved in the film and the actor. Last month, Mr Baldwin, 64, was charged with involuntary manslaughter. Ms Hutchins's attorney, Gloria Allred mentioned that the family has been devastated by the shocking killing. The suit, alleges intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence. It is being brought to Los Angeles Country Superior Court by Ms Hutchins’ mother, father and sister. They are currently living in Ukraine. This was mentioned by Ms Allred during a news conference on Thursday.
According to Ms Hutchins’s family, anyone that is responsible for her loss must be held accountable. Her husband filed the lawsuit against members of the film production and Mr Baldwin last February. The lawsuit, which sought funeral costs, punitive damages, and other expenses, alleged that cost-cutting and reckless behaviour on set caused her death, was settled for an undisclosed amount in October last year. The new lawsuit that was filed on Thursday is aimed at providing justice and accountability not only for Ms Hutchins’ husband and son but also for her parents and sister. Ukrainian Ms Hutchins died in the hospital after allegedly being shot in the chest by a prop gun fired by Mr Baldwin during a rehearsal at Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe.
According to prosecutors, Mr Baldwin was speaking to family members on the phone during the firearms training and hence he was distracted. According to documents filed by the Santa Fe District Attorney's Office, the defence argued that Mr Baldwin did not conduct mandatory safety checks with armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who had also been charged with involuntary manslaughter, and that he should not have pointed the gun at Ms Hutchin's face. The fatal shooting was directly attributable to a reckless departure from established norms and procedures. If found guilty at trial Mr Baldwin and Ms Gutierrez could face up to 18 months in prison. While living in Ukraine during the war, Ms Hutchins’ family has also had to cope with her loss. Ms Allred stated that Ms Hutchins' mother is an emergency operating room nurse in a hospital caring for war-wounded patients.
No responsibility has been taken by Mr Baldwin or the shooting. He also stated that he did not pull the gun's trigger and that it misfired. This was a claim that FBI officials disputed in a report submitted to the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office. Ms Gutierrez-Reed has stated that she intends to fight the charges. She stated that she checked to confirm that the rounds she loaded into the prop gun were fake before handing it over to the assistant director of the film. Dave Halls then gave it to Mr Baldwin and told him it was unloaded. Mr Halls pled guilty to a misdemeanour charge of the negligent use of a deadly weapon and is currently on probation for six months. The Rust producers were fined over $136,000 (£112,000) by the New Mexico Environment Department after an investigation revealed "a degree of neglect" on set.
