Police Officer Files Lawsuit Against Sig Sauer After Hair Trigger Injury

A 30-year veteran of the Tampa police force injured himself with a holstered Sig Sauer P320. The officer claims that he never touched the trigger of the weapon when it went off. The weapon was a department-issued semi-automatic handgun that fired one round into the officer’s leg.

The officer has filed a product liability lawsuit against Sig Sauer seeking damages for injuries related to his leg, medical expenses, and lost wages. Attorneys for the plaintiff filed an emergency motion to protect the hair-trigger Sig Sauer that allegedly went off without the weapon being touched.

According to the complaint, the officer was walking toward the bleachers of a local school as students were leaving the game. That’s when the gun went off, firing a single round into his leg. At first, the officer thought there was an active shooter situation, and he had been targeted by an unknown assailant.

The Sig Sauer lawsuits 

Accidental discharges related to this model are not rare and this case is not unique. First, a little background. Fully automatic weapons like machine guns are mostly banned in the U.S. Semi-automatic “assault” rifles (like the AR-15) are legal. The difference between semi-automatic and fully automatic weapons is in how the chamber reloads. A fully automatic weapon does not require an additional press of the trigger. A semi-automatic weapon uses the weapon’s recoil to load the next bullet in the chamber. The pistol is a standard-issue weapon for both the military and police officers.

The Army issued Sig Sauer a half a billion-dollar contract to provide sidearms to the U.S. military. The military claims that the weapon can sometimes go off for no reason.

Sig Sauer was forced to settle a class-action lawsuit brought about by gun owners who paid to replace defective components on the weapon. This lawsuit alleged that the specific component failure resulted in the weapon randomly discharging.

The untimely discharging of the weapon has resulted in 28 accidental discharge situations with 15 of those resulting in injury.

Product liability lawsuits 

Sig Sauer has very little defense to the charges as decorated military men and police officers are those who have been injured. They won’t be able to claim that the plaintiffs didn’t know what they were doing or improperly using the weapon.

Companies that produce dangerous products that injure those who purchase them are strictly liable for the injuries. While plaintiffs aren’t required to prove negligence, they often do make allegations of negligence. In this case, a severe design defect resulted in several preventable injuries.

Talk to a Tampa Product Liability Attorney Today 

If you’ve been injured due to a dangerous or defective product, call the Tampa personal injury attorneys at Matassini Law Firm today to schedule a free consultation and learn more about how we can help.

Resource:

military.com/daily-news/2021/07/29/families-of-9-troops-killed-amphibious-vehicle-sue.html