Alec Baldwin sued following fatal shooting on Rust set

Alec Baldwin has been sued by a Rust crew member following the fatal accidental shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Photo / Getty Images

The fatal tragedy on the set of the film Rust was only last month but E! News has reported Alec Baldwin is already facing a lawsuit from some of the film crew's members.

E! News obtained court documents identifying the lawsuit has been filed by the movie's chief electrician, Serge Svetnoy, the movie's armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and the film's assistant director, Dave Halls, as well as others.

The lawsuit comes just weeks after Baldwin accidentally misfired a prop gun, fatally wounding cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza on October 21.

Based on the documents, the tragedy could have been worse as Svetnoy claims the bullet that struck Hutchins and Souza was close to hitting him as well. Svetnoy went on to say in the moments after the gun went off he was one of the first people to work on Hutchins and try to keep her conscious until trained health professionals arrived.

Alec Baldwin on the set of Rust. Photo / Supplied

The lawsuit filed by Svetnoy against Baldwin is because the actor "owed a duty to Plaintiff and other crew members and actors on the Rust set to handle the Colt revolver provided to him by defendant Halls with reasonable care and diligence for the safety of Rust cast and crew".

"This duty called for Defendant Baldwin to double-check the Colt revolver with Halls upon being handled to ensure that it did not contain live ammunition," continuing to state, "This duty further called for [Baldwin] to handle the Colt revolver as if it was loaded and to refrain from pointing it at anyone."

In the suit, Svetnoy stated he knew Hutchins for more than five years and considered her a good friend. He also claimed he has suffered "severe emotional distress", due to the defendant's negligence and is seeking an unspecified amount in damages as well as a jury trial.

Days after the tragic incident, Baldwin gave his first statement about the accidental shooting that killed Hutchins, saying she was his "friend" and asking the paparazzi to leave his family alone.

Since then, multiple accusations of unsafe working conditions have surfaced as police try to determine who was to blame for the incident.