Gun Dealer Blamed for Mislabeled Rifle
“You’ll shoot your eye out, kid!” One of the most iconic parcels of dialog from everyone’s favorite Christmas movie is no laughing matter for one Florida man. He lost his eye when a Palm Beach arms dealer allegedly mislabeled a rifle. According to the complaint, James Fletcher purchased an antique rifle that exploded in his face when he tried to fire it. According to Fletcher, it was because he had inserted the wrong ammunition. The reason Fletcher claims he did that was because the rifle was mislabeled.
Is the Gun Dealer Liable?
In this case, the gun dealer mislabeled the rifle which was an act of negligence that caused the gun to backfire. In cases like these, the gun dealer will likely attempt to lay some of the blame at the plaintiff’s feet. They will claim that there is some clue that the plaintiff should have recognized in order to question whether or not the ammunition he used was the correct ammunition for the rifle.
In other words, they will say that the problem was so clear and so obvious, that a reasonable person would not have fired the gun knowing that the ammunition was a poor fit for the rifle. However, the quality of that argument relies entirely on how poor of a fit the ammunition was.
It will be clear to everyone that the first mistake was the mislabeling of the rifle. That mislabeling resulted in the plaintiff purchasing the wrong ammunition. As a result of loading the gun with the wrong ammunition, it exploded in the plaintiff’s face. Because the gun exploded in the plaintiff’s face, he lost an eye. So there’s a clear line from the defendant’s negligence to the plaintiff’s injuries.
First Lawsuit of Its Kind
According to the plaintiff’s attorneys, this is the first lawsuit targeting a gun important in a negligence lawsuit. The plaintiff is hoping that this sends a warning across the bow of other importers who similarly to not take care to label their products correctly.
Century Arms Inc., the company that imported the gun, admits that the gun was improperly labeled but did not admit that they were responsible for the accident. They claim that the plaintiff should have inspected the gun prior to discharging it and had he done so, he could have avoided the accident that cost him his eye.
In a case like this, a jury may assign some of the blame to the plaintiff, but they are unlikely to assign all of the blame. They are also unlikely to assign a great deal of the blame to the plaintiff, if any. The most likely outcome of this lawsuit is that the plaintiff will take home a large sum of money related to the loss of his eye.
Talk to a Miami Personal Injury Attorney Today
If you’ve been injured by a defective product, the Miami personal injury attorneys at the office of Alan Goldfarb, P.A. can help you recover damages related to your injuries. Talk to us today and schedule a free consultation.
