$10 million awarded in punitive damages in first Pennsylvania P320 trial

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 20, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A Philadelphia jury has just awarded $11 million in damages to U.S. Army veteran George Abrahams, who was shot by his own Sig Sauer P320 pistol while it was in its holster and without his hands touching the gun. The jury found that Sig Sauer defectively designed the P320, was negligent in selling the gun, and showed reckless indifference to the rights of others in the distribution of the pistol. The verdict and jury award - $10 million in punitive damages, and $1 million in compensatory damages - followed a three-week trial in the first Pennsylvania, P320 case against Sig Sauer to go to trial.

Mr. Abrahams is the latest victim of the Sig Sauer P320 to prevail at trial against the international gun manufacturer, according to his attorneys at Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky PC. The verdict follows the $2.35 million Federal jury award in June to the firm’s Georgia client (Lang v. Sig Sauer, 1:21-cv-04196, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia) who was also shot by his holstered P320 without ever touching the trigger.

Mr. Abrahams filed a negligence and products liability complaint against Sig Sauer, alleging that his and hundreds of other P320s have discharged and injured active-duty law enforcement personnel and civilian owners; the victims are well trained, safety-focused gun users concerned the manufacturer has to date adamantly resisted issuing a safety recall or redesign. Mr. Abrahams’ unintended and uncommanded shooting occurred suddenly on June 19, 2020 while Mr. Abrahams was simply walking down the stairs of his house; the bullet tore through his right leg, rendering him permanently injured.

“The jury saw the P320 for exactly what it is, defective and dangerous,” said firm Partner Robert W. Zimmerman, lead plaintiff’s counsel. “We successfully argued that Sig Sauer knew of the risks of the P320s design, predicted these risks would injure its customers, and saw these risks play out in the real world. Sig Sauer knowingly and negligently compromised safety in the name of profit.”

Every P320 sold to the military featured an external safety to guard against unintended, uncommanded firing. However, the vast majority of P320 models sold to the public and police do not even have an external safety as an option. Sig Sauer also designed a trigger safety that was used widely within the industry, but inexplicably scrapped the design before P320s with trigger safeties were put into production. Plaintiff’s counsel alleged that Sig Sauer is the only gun maker in the world to make this type of gun without a safety, and that Sig Sauer blatantly ignored its own policy that pre-cocked pistols come with a safety. “Mr. Abrahams demonstrated great courage in bringing this lawsuit, the same kind of courage he displayed serving our country with distinction as an enlisted field artillery specialist in the U.S. Army. He is hopeful this verdict, which came after several hours of jury deliberations over three days, sends a loud and clear message to Sig Sauer that there are consequences to its actions, and inactions. The only way for Sig Sauer to avoid injuring- or killing- innocent victims is to redesign this gun to include a safety like other gun manufacturers,” Zimmerman said.

“We have said it before, and juries are now speaking loud and clear with their verdicts; this gun is a danger to gun owners and anyone within the vicinity of this gun,” co-counsel Ryan Hurd affirmed. Plaintiff’s legal team also included SMB’s Larry Bendesky and Samuel A. Haaz.

SMB represents more than 100 other P320 victims injured by Sig Sauer’s first striker-fired pistol. The firm continues to uncover more instances of unintended discharges. The firm’s clients seek to hold Sig Sauer accountable for the defectively designed gun, and to call upon the company from taking steps that its competitors take to avoid injuring or killing other victims. The P320 has been the subject of controversy, litigation, and media scrutiny for years. Last year it was featured in a joint investigation by The Washington Post, joining other national investigative reports.

Additional related information on the Sig Sauer litigation – and the gun’s troubled history - can be found at www.SMB_SigSauerCases.

Contacts:
Robert W. Zimmerman / rzimmerman@smbb.com / 215-575-3898
Steph Rosenfeld / steph@idadvisors.com / 215-514-4101

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a3f20d6e-2800-4a24-9220-0067c4608d29

Plaintiff George Abrahams

Law firm photo

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