The shocking and sad death of Halyna Hutchins, who was accidently shot by actor Alec Baldwin on the set of the movie “Rust,” is a terrible tragedy. But it is unfortunately a high-profile example of the many work-related accidents that are absolutely preventable and avoidable. This tragedy should have, and could have, been prevented if the employer, cast, crew, and production companies simply implemented proper safety protocols and then required every person to closely follow the safety protocols. Too often, employers and corporations fail to do the right thing, take shortcuts, all in the name of getting things done quickly on budget and on time, putting profits over safety.
Now, we come to find that an assistant director on the set has a past history of safety violations. In particular, the assistant director had been terminated from a movie in 2019 when the same thing allegedly occurred—a prop gun was accidently discharged on set, which caused injuries.
It is no wonder that this preventable tragedy has sparked calls for better workplace safety on movie production sets. All employers and corporations, whether movie production companies, construction companies, warehousing, or any other, should take time to review their safety protocols and enforcement in order to better protect their employees, vendors, contractors, and the public at large.
