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Alec Baldwin fired prop gun that killed woman on film set of Rust

This is what I'm saying. The money in Hollywood could easily support an industry that supplies only safe guns that are never loaded with live ammo.

Of course, the companies supplying those guns will always make more money by finding other uses for them when studios don't need them.
Yep, and frankly they can be cgi'd in as an option.
 
And I'm sorry, but a week ago, two guns on set were accidentally discharged with live rounds? WTF response system do they have in place that allows this to happen just days later? Why wasn't every gun inspected and put in a goddamn safe?
An industry slow to deal with safety concerns in America. That’s never happened before.

sarcasm. Of course.
 
Hay @mcmurtry66

How does gross negligence change our WC discussion? If the company supplying the guns was negligent, isn't there a separate claim against them that has nothing to do with WC?
The key is always the employment relationship. If the company supplying the guns wasn't her employer she has a third party pi claim against them and a comp claim with her employer. If she was an independent contractor than no worker's comp just pi cases
 
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The key is always the employment relationship. If the company supplying the guns wasn't her employer she has a third party pi claim against them. If she was an independent contractor than no worker's comp just pi cases
I don't know about NM, but Cali pretty much says she's an employee of the studio as a matter of law. They have really cracked down on that IC stuff.
 
I don't know about NM, but Cali pretty much says she's an employee of the studio as a matter of law. They have really cracked down on that IC stuff.
Then in most states she would have a worker's compensation claim against the studio and a third party civil suit against the gun company. Each state handles set offs and liens differently. You don't just pocket both. Not that it would matter much as the pi case would be presumably a big number. A gun company has to have 7 figure coverage.
 
Then in most states she would have a worker's compensation claim against the studio and a third party civil suit against the gun company. Each state handles set offs and liens differently. You don't just pocket both.
I would assume that most states would have a statute stipulating whether or not they get to offset from the insurance, or whether the insurance gets to offset against them.
 
Either way, I think we can all agree that it looks like this poor woman's family will definitely be compensated.

What I'm starting to wonder about now is criminal liability. Negligent homicide and manslaughter aren't exactly strangers.

I will say we need to revisit these laws, the are tremendously skewed against workers.
 
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Either way, I think we can all agree that it looks like this poor woman's family will definitely be compensated.

What I'm starting to wonder about now is criminal liability. Negligent homicide and manslaughter aren't exactly strangers.
I know nothing about how any of that criminal works. Criminal negligence. Is that a thing still?
 
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I will say we need to revisit these laws, the are tremendously skewed against workers.
Maybe. Under the comp stats I am familiar with if you get permanently disabled you get a weekly check for life. Usually about 2/3 of your average weekly salary.

Whether that's enough or not I guess is a judgment call
 
Mean
Hey numbnuts, I've practiced criminal law for 17 years. You aren't in a position to tell me shit about criminal cases. 3rd degree murder isn't even a thing in New Mexico, genius. They have 1st degree murder, 2nd degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, and involuntary manslaughter. An accidental shooting doesn't qualify for any of them.

I'm sure her family will receive a settlement from someone, but it won't be because Alec Baldwin was afraid of getting charged with crimes.

How am I supposed to make a bet with you when you don't even know what you are saying?
I said it would be settled out of court, with a payment to her family, by Baldwin, & NO CRIMINAL CHARGES FILED BY THE AUTHORITIES/PROSECUTOR.

That's where settlements are awarded, civil suits, not criminal. This won't go to court at all. Baldwin will compensate her family, in private.



Case Closed
 
Mean

I said it would be settled out of court, with a payment to her family, by Baldwin, & NO CRIMINAL CHARGES FILED BY THE AUTHORITIES/PROSECUTOR.

That's where settlements are awarded, civil suits, not criminal. This won't go to court at all. Baldwin will compensate her family, in private.



Case Closed
That's not what you said, but the mods deleted the post. You got off easy.
 
And I'm sorry, but a week ago, two guns on set were accidentally discharged with live rounds? WTF response system do they have in place that allows this to happen just days later? Why wasn't every gun inspected and put in a goddamn safe?
Nothing defective about the guns, only the operators/shooters. Pull the trigger, & the gun discharges a projectile. A bullet, in the case, if live ammo is used, & a wad usually is discharged in a blank round. Most wadding/wads today are made of plastic. Many years ago, they were made of wood, even more dangerous.
 
That's not what you said, but the mods deleted the post. You got off easy.
I did in my previous post, you just can't read, or are lying again.

I never said any criminal charges would be filed. Read it again. However, if Baldwin & her family can't come to an out of court settlement on compensation, then her family may want to pursue civil charges/lawsuit against Baldwin. They WILL come to an out of court compensation agreement, & no charges will ever be filed.
 
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I did in my previous post, you just can't read, or are lying again.

I never said any criminal charges would be filed. Read it again. However, if Baldwin & her family can't come to an out of court settlement on compensation, then her family may want to pursue civil charges/lawsuit against Baldwin. They WILL come to an out of court compensation agreement, & no charges will ever be filed.
Your post was something to the effect of:

Civil cases don't end with settlements, Moron.

And then you made an additional comment that got the post justifiably nuked.
 
Your post was something to the effect of:

Civil cases don't end with settlements, Moron.

And then you made an additional comment that got the post justifiably nuked.
My originally post explained it justifiably. In that, I said no charges would be filed, & they would settle it out of court. Civil lawsuits may have compensatory damages awarded, but not (usually ) in criminal cases.
 
With all due respect, the claims of expertise on this board are often more fantasy than fact. Not fair to lump you in, but when you’ve got guys like Outside Shooter claiming to be experts & then repeated shitting the bed on all of his claims, one tends to be skeptical. Hell, Goat even claims to be a lawyer…
You are welcome to come by my office this week for a consultation if you like. PM me and I'll get you on my calendar.
 
I know nothing about how any of that criminal works. Criminal negligence. Is that a thing still?
Not in Indiana. And my cursory reading of New Mexico law suggests that isn't a crime there either.

Indiana has reckless homicide, but reckless is a different mens tea than negligence.
 
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My originally post explained it justifiably. In that, I said no charges would be filed, & they would settle it out of court. Civil lawsuits may have compensatory damages awarded, but not (usually ) in criminal cases.
You said:
1. There'd be a settlement
2. Because if Baldwin didn't settle, he'd be charged with crimes that don't even exist in New Mexico and then he'd plead guilty.

Part one is right. Literally everything else is completely incorrect.

Then you told a practicing criminal lawyer he doesn't know anything about the law.

Notice how I'm not correcting anything McMurtry and Goat say? It's because I know almost nothing about workers comp law.

I have a really good insult lined up here, but it's vulgar and I don't feel like getting banned. The upshot is: stay in your lane, if you have one.
 
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I don’t understand why some people are throwing a bitch fit about Baldwin’s statement.
He said she was a wife… now he’s being castigated as patriarchal.
If the first thing said on my obituary was “husband, father” I would be greatly honored.
What’s wrong with being patriarchal? It’s a tough job but someone needs to do it. Maybe the language shifted again and I was not there when they handed out maps. I think the Pope is a Patriarch?
 
I don't know about NM, but Cali pretty much says she's an employee of the studio as a matter of law. They have really cracked down on that IC stuff.
There is no "studio" here. This appears to be the kind of independently financed feature that tries to make its money by parceling out its distribution rights in different territories on different tiers in both foreign pre-sales and post-completion markets. Doubtful that there is any domestic studio distribution lined up prior to completion here.

There are really challenging financial pressures on these types of films that put a lot of pressure on producers to continuously do more with less. That's the nature of the market, but it's that kind of pressure that can result in these types of overstressed, in-a-hurry mistakes.

And California may have cracked down on IC stuff, but it's still extraordinarily common in the film business. I'd be shocked if the director and DP both weren't IC's. Another way films like this squeeze the budget.
 
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Alec Baldwin is a stoner. I’m not surprised in the least that he was less than 100 hundred percent responsible for his conduct with a prop gun.
 
Either way, I think we can all agree that it looks like this poor woman's family will definitely be compensated.

What I'm starting to wonder about now is criminal liability. Negligent homicide and manslaughter aren't exactly strangers.
How is this not manslaughter?
I understand it was an accident but there is definitely negligence involved.
 
Someone pointed a gun at someone and pulled the trigger.
Who was that?
It would seem that the person who was responsible for clearing the gun would be negligent, especially if the accident took place in the course of the scene. Now, if Baldwin was messing around and pulled the trigger as a joke, that would seem to be a different matter.
Have they released the particulars in this case?
 
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It would seem that the person who was responsible for clearing the gun would be negligent, especially if the accident took place in the course of the scene. Now, if Baldwin was messing around and pulled the trigger as a joke, that would seem to be a different matter.
Have they released the particulars in this case?
Oh….I think there are multiple people that failed but only one pulled the trigger.
I have no idea if Baldwin really was the one that pulled the trigger but I haven’t seen him dispute that fact.
 
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