[Malum Prohibitum]

Jury rules pistol unsafe.

 

[kkennett]

This was not a 2A or rights case, just a good ol' fashion products liability matter. I certainly would not own a revolver with no safety or transfer bar. Your basic Taurus, etc. will all have transfer bars. Is that a defect? Well, that's for the jury, I suppose.

 

[Gunstar1]

Not if you knew it had no transfer bar, knew what that meant, and carried it anyway.

People who know that usually keep the chamber under the hammer empty or carry in a holster that straps the hammer down so that kind of thing does not happen.

 

[viper32cm]

The dude took a .454 in the leg. :shock:

But seriously, lack of a transfer bar is not a design defect. That's like saying a Series 70 1911 is defective becasue it lacks the triggere safety. Gah, this is why I didn't take products liability.

 

[jgullock]

The dude took a .454 in the leg. :shock:

Pffft, I know of one that was bigger. 8)

 

[viper32cm]

Someone take a .500 S&W in the leg? Hopefully nothing larger, I can't imagine the damage that would result from one of the African dangerous game calibers.

4-bore, in the leg :shock:

 

[kkennett]

Not if you knew it had no transfer bar, knew what that meant, and carried it anyway.

Bingo, as far as I'm concerned. To carry a loaded firearm on your person whose operational characteristics you do not thoroughly understand is stupid, IMHO. The gun, however, is not defective.

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

The jury found unanimously that there was a defect in the design of the product . . .

Baker said the jury assigned 50 percent of the responsibility for the accident to Taylor [the person bringing the suit]. . .

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

The lawsuit alleged the Model 83 five-shot revolver was defective because it failed to conform to express representations by the company that the firearm was one of the "world's finest" handguns specifically designed to give any user safety, top quality and dependability.

The complaint said the company also failed to warn of the dangers associated with using the gun.

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

Manual safety

Spence [the attorney for the man who shot himself] said experts for the plaintiff said all revolvers should be designed with transfer bars to ensure that the only way to discharge the weapon is by "fully cocking the hammer and pulling the trigger."

Baker said the company sells "quite a few" of the Model 38 handguns. He said the gun has a "manual" safety and the use of the gun is outlined in the manual. [Is this true?]

"It's very effective, and it doesn't fail," Baker said. "Because these guns are used in such harsh conditions and dangerous conditions, we go for something that is as close to absolutely reliable as you can get."

But Spence called on the company -- and several others producing revolvers with "the same defect" -- to recall and stop producing "these defective guns."

 

[slabertooch]

It's only defective if features advertised don't perform as planned/manufactured. If I buy a car without air bags, and the manufacture informs me of this in the manual, I can't sue them if I get into a wreck and hurt myself because the non-existent airbags didn't deploy.

 

[kkennett]

If I buy a car without air bags, and the manufacture informs me of this in the manual, I can't sue them if I get into a wreck and hurt myself because the non-existent airbags didn't deploy.

Ahhhh, but you can! Happens all the time.

 

[maddog]

I still think the one that tops them all is the woman that won a lawsuit against McD's for getting burned when she spilled her coffee in her lap ... duh, most people I know would expect the coffee to be hot