Compassionate Communication Helps Result in Legal Settlement in Alec Baldwin Killing of Halyna Hutchins

Actor Alec Baldwin and the late cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins

Creative problem solving comes from intelligent communication, meaning expressing ourselves, listening skillfully and exhibiting a commitment to helping each other satisfy needs.

Maybe some of this happened well enough that it led to Alec Baldwin being able to settle a lawsuit with Halyna Hutchins' family after a prop gun killed Hutchins last fall on the movie set of “Rust.”

“As part of the settlement… her husband Matthew Hutchins will serve as an executive producer on the movie, which plans to resume production in January,” Brian Truitt of USA Today reported.

Mr. Hutchins seemed at relative piece when talking about the legal outcome.

“I have no interest in engaging in recriminations or attribution of blame (to the producers or Mr. Baldwin),” he said. “All of us believe Halyna's death was a terrible accident. I am grateful that the producers and the entertainment community have come together to pay tribute to Halyna's final work.”

Emotions had to be raw going into negotiations and the tension, due to a lawsuit, would have been high. Yet the parties — Baldwin and his production company and Mr. Hutchins and Ms. Hutchins family — were able to come to a resolution that apparently was deemed respectful and good enough.

That doesn’t happen without communication that works well, or that sufficiently satisfies those involved in a dispute. It doesn’t happen without Baldwin seeking to understand and show compassion towards the pain and suffering, and want to take significant steps, in words, gestures, money and honor towards Mrs. Hutchins’ legacy and family, to alleviate it.

This settlement doesn’t get done with a dominant attitude of negativity and selfishness.

It gets done because the focus was where it needed to be and Baldwin, his production company and his lawyers were not adversarial and Mr. Hutchins and his attorneys made a solution and agreement possible with their willingness to do what was possible and meaningful to help the Hutchins family emotionally and financially. Mrs. Hutchins memory is respected.

Baldwin could still however face criminal charges.