Alec Baldwin Halyna Hutchins Shooting: Who is Liable?

The tragic incident that occurred last week during which Alec Baldwin fired a gun that killed Director of Photography Halyna Hutchins has opened up a can of worms about malpractice in the entertainment business.

We talked to Daniel Forouzan, an attorney who specializes in personal injury and labor law to talk about what should have been done to prevent such a horrific event, and some of the consequences the production could face. In his first interview since the Alec Baldwin shooting as reported by Deadline, the actor said

“A woman died,” he said. “She was my friend. She was my friend. The day I arrived in Santa Fe to start shooting, I took her to dinner with Joel, the director. We were a very, very well-oiled crew shooting a film together and then this horrible event happened.” – Deadline

Unfortunately, this is not the first time a tragedy like this has happened. We all remember Brandon Lee and how he was killed during the production of The Crow. However, in the case of the movie Rust, there were many events that could have been prevented that led to this point of no return. The crew had been enduring long hours of shooting, long hours of driving to the set, and producers cutting corners to save money. Also, many think that hiring a 24-year-old armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who lacked proper experience was a big mistake.

A lot of questions are raised as to who is liable for the death of Hutchins? Was the first Assistant Director supposed to hand the gun without the armorer present? Could the producers, including Alec Baldwin, be charged with manslaughter? Attorney Forouzan responds to all of our questions in the interview above.