Sig Sauer Ordered to Pay $11M

What do y'all think about this?



A Philadelphia jury awarded $11 million on Wednesday to a man whose holstered Sig Sauer pistol went off by itself while he was going down the stairs, causing a serious leg injury — the second major verdict this year against the embattled gun manufacturer over its P320 model.

After a three-week trial, the jury concluded that New Hampshire-based Sig Sauer was negligent for selling a defective gun and holster. The plaintiff’s lawyers said the P320 pistol is prone to going off without the trigger being pulled, a defect that has led to scores of injuries around the U.S.

Robert W. Zimmerman, the plaintiff’s lawyer, represented George Abrahams, a U.S. Army veteran and painting contractor in Philadelphia, who has said he holstered his P320, put it in the pocket of his athletic pants and zipped it up before going downstairs. The gun went off and the bullet tore through his right thigh, exiting above the knee, causing permanent injuries, according to court documents.

“We strongly disagree with the verdict in this unintended discharge lawsuit … and will be appealing the decision on multiple grounds,” the company said.

Earlier this year, a federal jury awarded $2.35 million to a Georgia man who was wounded when his holstered P320 went off. Zimmerman’s law firm, Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky, also represented that plaintiff, and has a raft of other pending claims against Sig Sauer. The company has indicated it plans to appeal the Georgia verdict.

Link

 

I mean, why can’t we have safety’s anymore. 1911, quite possibly the worlds perfect pistol, 100 years later…

 

It appears the military version of the P320 has one.

 

I normally call bullshit when someone says a gun "went off by itself" without the trigger being pulled, but it sounds like there may be some validity to this one?

"After a three-week trial, the jury concluded that New Hampshire-based Sig Sauer was negligent for selling a defective gun and holster. The plaintiff’s lawyers said the P320 pistol is prone to going off without the trigger being pulled, a defect that has led to scores of injuries around the U.S."

So that sounds like it was in a Sig holster? Something must press on the trigger when it's in the holster, or the gun's just fucked.
I would think it'd fail drop testing or something if it was prone to going off by itself.

 

Yeah, still waiting to hear the real story on that “Sundance Head” fella that supposedly dropped his 22 pistol and it went off and shot him in the stomach.

 

The article mentions 100 other cases where this supposedly happened, too. As @KNABORES said, a safety would have made a difference here.

 

Been around guns a bit but by no means an expert so I gotta ask: why would anyone holster a weapon with a round chambered and the hammer cocked? Or did the pistol chamber a round itself?

 

Lots of videos on YouTube of this happening. I say if it’s legit then they need to issue a recall and are liable.

 

Life or death situation last thing you want is to have to remember to chamber a round and cock a hammer.

 

Pretty sure pulling the slide back takes less than a second. I mean, Deadpool can do it. Also, the idea that you’re getting into all of these life and death situations is truly farcical. I get the whole be prepared mantra, but carrying a loaded gun around is probably more dangerous than not.

 

That makes sense, I guess, but it seems like walking around your house (when not under a threat) with a live weapon is unnecessarily dangerous. Do people who have guns on their nightstand (in a locked box) also leave them ready to fire like this?

 

Time = Death. Action vs Reaction. Not all handguns have hammers. Also depends on application or profession, LE or military having one chambered is practical, but that may look differently from a civilian perspective. As you referenced, "anyone", is relative.

Edit: good question though.

 

All the more reason why I like revolvers.

 

Yes.

 

Yes, but holstered and without the locked box.

 

If I didn't have a 5 year old, mine would be sans box too.

 

Agree to a point. 99% of carriers aren’t going to get in a shoot out. The chl class will tell you it’s a last defense and escaping the situation is a way better alternative than getting in a gun fight or being a hero. I’ve never met anyone that doesn’t carry loaded and don’t have issues. Adrenaline starts pumping and your fine motor skills go out the window and you are left with gross motor skills so trying to draw, chamber, aim, shoot, all in a second or two isn’t a practical thing

 

True, and the smart thing. I am way beyond having any little ones running around.

 

If you’re gonna carry, you gotta practice. Practice until it becomes muscle memory, like racking a shotgun between shots, I don’t even remember doing it, it’s subconscious at this point. Carrying with one in the pipe is a choice, and it does decrease draw to ready to fire time, so I get it. The majority of people carry chambered for a lifetime with no accidents. But hard to have an accidental discharge or weapon malfunction with no round chambered.

 

My credentials, 35 years LEO/Leo trainer. Unfortunately multiple OIS (Officer Involved Shootings). You will ALWAYS fall back on your training. If you have the skills and practice enough with your choice of defensive weapon, you should be able to comfortably carry, store and heaven forbid utilize it if necessary.

All of that being said the title of this thread is about the Sig in question, I have one and after hearing about the discharges, I am a firm believer the weapon is faulty. I will not carry it until it is sorted out and it is recalled or replaced. (Maybe it has already, I don't stay up to date as much as I should.)

 

Do you find it odd that the military version has a safety, but the civilian/LEO version does not?

 

And Sig has a voluntary recall:

https://www.sigsauer.com/p320-voluntary-upgrade-program

 

I was never in the military, I did work with the military for three years in Iraq. So I do understand, they teach to the lowest common denominator. I hold people to higher standards. If you're carrying a weapon of any type you had better damn sure know how to use it, and use it properly. I happen to agree with the "Black Hawk Down" scene. When I started in the late seventies we still had our finger on the trigger and I never witnessed an ND. That is just my onionin, and we all know what that means...

And just to be clear I have a lot of experience, but by no means am I a weapon expert. There are many people on here who know a lot more and have way more experience than myself.

 

love a good gun fight…I mean debate.