The chief electrician on the set of the film Rust, Serge Svetnoy, is suing actor Alec Baldwin, rookie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, and the film’s assistant director Dave Halls. The suit is the first to come against Baldwin and film producers after Baldwin accidentally fired a live round that killed Director of Photography Helena Hutchins last month. The fatal shot also wounded the film’s director Joel Souza.

In his complaint, Svetnoy details that he suffered injuries and emotional distress because of the defendants’ negligence. He details that Baldwin "owed a duty to the 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."

The complaint goes on, "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."

Svetnoy also aimed his criticism at producers, alleging that they failed to follow safety standards that would have kept cast and crew members safe. Svetnoy details that the disregard of safety standards resulted in "a revolver loaded with live ammunition to be pointed at living persons on the Rust set."

In his lawsuit, Svetnoy details injuries including “severe emotional distress.” Svetnoy explains that he was standing six or seven feet away from Baldwin when the gun was fired and shoulder to shoulder with Hutchins when she was shot. “What happened next will haunt Plaintiff forever,” the suit explains. “[Svetnoy] felt a strange and terrifying whoosh of what felt like pressurized air from his right. He felt what he believed was gunpowder and other residual materials directly strike the right side of his face.” Svetnoy details that Hutchins died in his arms and that “As he held her, he noticed that the hand placed behind her back was becoming wet with her blood.”

After filing the complaint, Svetnoy’s attorney, Gary Dordick, explained during a news conference that "Filmmaking is a wonderful art but no one should ever die for other people to be entertained."

Although Dordick and Svetnoy contend that they are moving forward with their lawsuit to keep similar events from happening in the future, the duo have been met with harsh criticism regarding their intent. In a television interview with Dan Abrahms, Svetnoy’s lawyer sparred with host Abrahms regarding the suit.

Abrahms questioned whether the suit is a frivolous one as he criticized the merits of Svetnoy’s suit. “Some guy who’s saying that his eyeglass was scratched and he got very upset at everything that happened. That’s not damages. I mean, this just feels–it feels like it’s on the fringe of being a frivolous lawsuit.”

Dordick pushed back, “Well, again, you’re taking the position that emotional distress damages are nothing and worthless and that somebody who claims severe emotional distress has no claim–no real injury.”

Svetnoy is seeking an unspecified amount of damages.