A Worcester, Massachusetts gun manufacturer has agreed to pay the families of two men, one of whom was killed and one who was wounded, to settle a Massachusetts wrongful death suit that resulted after the men were shot from a gun manufactured by Kahr Arms.
Before you wonder why a gun manufacturer would be named as a defendant in a civil suit for damages stemming from the use of a gun that it manufactured: Remember, there is always (as here) a story behind the story: You see, the man who shot the victims was an employee of Kahr Arms, who stole the gun from his employer and then used it to shoot the two victims outside a Worcester nightclub in 1999. That employee had a criminal record that his employer never checked into, and the suit alleged that Kahr should have conducted employee background checks prior to hiring the employee, who was quite dangerous. The suit also claimed that the company should have employed better employee theft-prevention methods to prevent an employee from stealing a gun for illegal use, such as installing metal detectors at the plant to prevent employees from stealing the guns they manufactured.
Guzman’s family and the man who was wounded filed a wrongful death suit against Kahr Arms, and eventually Kahr Arms agreed to pay $600,000 to settle the case before going to a jury. As a Boston/Dedham Massachusetts wrongful death lawyer, it’s easy for me to see why the defendant settled this case. Instrumental in the litigation and settlement of the case was the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence in Washington, D.C., named after President Ronald Regan’s Press Secretary who suffered a permanent brain injury in the assassination attempt against Reagan. The Brady Center termed the settlement the largest damages payment to date made by a gun manufacturer accused of negligence in the criminal use of a gun.
Certainly, gun fatalities are not the only reason wrongful death suits can be brought against defendants; they can be brought for a variety of legal reasons. If you or someone you care about has lost a loved one and suspects that another person’s or party’s negligence was to blame, contact us for a free legal consultation. We are very expereinced at litigating thee types of complex cases, and we can guide you to the best legal outcome possible under the circumstances.