Can I Sue for Gun Manufacturing Defects?

A common cause of gun-related accidents is manufacturing or design defects in the trigger systems of some rifles. “Remington has had problems for 60 years with their model 700, which has a tendency to misfire when you shift the mechanical safety from the safe to the fire position,” says Timothy W. Monsees, a product liability lawyer at Monsees & Mayer in Kansas City, Missouri. “It doesn’t involve pulling the trigger, but the safety virtually acts as a trigger.”

So what happens if you or a loved one are injured as a result of a defectively built gun? One option is to sue the gun manufacturer for financial compensation.

The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) protects gunmakers from liability when their products are used to commit crimes. However, there is an exemption under PLCAA allowing gun manufacturers to be held liable for defective products.

Here are some tips if you’re considering legal action. Reach out to a product liability lawyer for legal advice.

Preserve Evidence of the Defective Gun

If you’re the victim of a misfired rifle or handgun, there are many things you can do to protect yourself and ensure you will be compensated for your injuries.

For one, Monsees says these cases will almost always be reported to the police. In order to determine if you have a case, experts often examine the gun and even test it. If a test involves shooting the gun, Monsees says that could destroy evidence that may have resided in the fire control. It gets disturbed or changed when the fire control is cycled or the gun is test-fired.

“It’s not unusual that by the time someone comes to see me, they’ve already reported it to the firearms manufacturers,” says Monsees. “I’ve had cases where the companies already have the rifle that I needed to prove my case.”

Instead of allowing the gun to be fired, or doing it yourself, immediately take it to an experienced attorney.

“The trail gets cold very quickly in a firearms case,” says Monsees. “If the police are called, they invariably take possession of the weapon. They’ll want to monkey with it and test it. So, the earlier I can get to it, the better.”

What You Have To Prove in a Gun Product Liability Claim

Product liability cases involve proving that because of the negligence of a manufacturer (and sometimes a distributor or retailer), a company can be held liable for the damages caused. Product liability can arise in:

• The defective design or building of a product;
• Failing to warn of a danger associated with the product in marketing practices.

Common defenses to product liability that a gun company will raise include:

• That a consumer contributed to their own injuries
• That the consumer assumed the risk of injury by using the firearm. 

“It’s hard litigation, mainly because, if you’re using a firearm, a big part of the population will presume that you have kind of assumed the risk involved,” says Monsees. “We rarely see a true assumption-of-risk defense entered. It’s always something that we have to address because it’s what juries have on their minds.”

How Gun Safety Rules Impact Gun Manufacturer Liability

Most states have hunter and firearm safety courses that everyone must go through before they can get a hunting license. Some older people get grandfathered in, but most who are 50 or younger need to take a course.

“One of the things taught in these courses are the 10 commandments of gun safety,” says Monsees. “They are all good rules, but they were crafted 40 years ago by the firearms industry. The paperwork from that effort demonstrates clearly that they were building in contributory negligence defenses when they knew people would get hurt. It’s clear they didn’t have a philanthropic motivation for doing it. Knowing people were going to get hurt — knowing they were going to get sued — they can now say that people were violating these gun rules, which is a contributory negligence defense. They are scripting these things ahead of time.”

Monsees adds that from a plaintiff lawyer’s standpoint, “They don’t know the names of the victims — but they already know there will be victims, so they are already building their defenses.”

Find an Experienced Product Liability Attorney

If you’ve been injured by a defective gun that misfired, consider using the Super Lawyers directory to reach out to a lawyer with experience in personal injury and product liability claims.