manufacturing defects can be found in guns and gun safes

Guns can be incredibly dangerous. When not in use, every gun should be properly secured in a storage case or a gun safe. No one, especially young children, should be able to get unauthorized access to a gun, especially defective guns and defective firearms. Unfortunately, sometimes gun owners fail to properly store their firearms. In other cases, gun owners do their part, but the storage case itself proves to be defective. This can cause serious injuries or even death. All negligent parties should be held liable for the damage caused by their actions. If you or a family member was injured by a gun, and you believe a defective gun storage case may have played a role, please contact an experienced Nevada personal injury lawyer to discuss your legal options for a defective firearm litigation and product liability claim.

Gun Owner Storage Responsibilities

gun manufacturers make a defective product during the manufacturing process and marketing defect.

Gun owners need to take extreme care when it comes to their firearms. Gun owners may be held liable if their lack of care leads to another person’s injury due to an accidental discharge. For example, under Nevada law liability may be imposed on a child’s guardian if that child gets access to a firearm and commits a negligent act with the unreasonably dangerous firearm. However, liability can be avoided under the statute if the gun and other dangerous products are stored in:

  • A securely locked container; or
  • In a location that a reasonable person would have believed to be secure.

The bottom line is that gun owners have a responsibility to secure their firearms. The failure to do so could lead to serious injuries and negligent gun owners can be held liable for those injuries. All gun owners must make a good faith effort to properly secure their weapon. For example, if a gun owner knows that their storage case has a broken lock, they should not keep their gun in the case. The gun needs to be actually secured or the gun owner must have a reasonable belief that the gun is secured. Otherwise, there may be liability in the event that an accident occurs. Unfortunately, in some cases, gun owners do everything right but the gun storage case or gun safe itself is the problem. If an injury occurs after someone got access to the gun because of a faulty gun case, the gun industry or manufacturing company can be held liable.

Holding a Company Liable for a Defective Gun Storage Case or Manufacturing Defects and Defective Products

man holding a gun behind his back

In Nevada, all companies that manufacture products have a legal responsibility to ensure that their products are free from unreasonable safety hazards. Gun owners put a lot faith in the manufacturers of gun storage cases. Responsible gun owners understand how dangerous their firearm can be, and they purchase gun cases in order to protect others. If the storage case or gun safe proves to be defective, the manufacturing company needs to be held liable for any resulting injuries. This product liability litigation can be done through bringing a products liability claim against any negligent companies. Generally, these type of product liability claims fit into one of three categories:

  • Manufacturing Defect: A gun storage case has a manufacturing defect if the specific unit that was purchased is materially different than the approved product design. In other words, you got sold a broken product. The company has a legal responsibility to ensure that you and your family are not put at risk from defective products.
  • Design Defect: A gun storage case with a design defect is slightly different. In these type of claims, your individual unit will not be broken; instead the entire line of products will be flawed. Essentially, this means that the design was inherently faulty and that the whole line of gun storage products should never have been on the market in the first place.
  • Labelling Defect: Finally, you may also be able to hold a gun storage case company liable for a labelling defect. For example, if a company marketed a product as a secure gun storage case, and you purchased it for that purpose, but it was never really intended to be used that way, they can be held liable. They put you at risk by creating false expectations. Companies have a legal responsibility to correctly market their products and to warn customers about any foreseeable safety risks.

GUN INJURIES SUSTAINED ON PUBLIC PROPERTY

picture of man in arm sling submitted to Las Vegas Defective Gun Case Lawyer as evidence of injury from defective gun

Some gun injuries are sustained on public property. Often these occur as the result of ‘wrong place, wrong time’ type accidents. For example, a person may be injured while hunting or by someone else who is hunting. In this situation, many feel that they do not have any legal options. However, that is simply not the case. If you or your family member was injured or killed by a gun on public property, please get your case in the hands of an experienced attorney. Your attorney will ensure that all negligent parties are held accountable. In public property gun injury cases, this could be circumstances that include:

  • The person who fired the gun;
  • The parents of the shooter, if they were a minor;
  • Anyone else who contributed to the accident;
  • The gun manufacturer or designer; and
  • A government entity, in the event that their negligence led to the accident occurring on public property.

WHAT IF SOMEONE IS INJURED IN A GUN ACCIDENT ON YOUR PROPERTY?

As a property owner, you too have a legal responsibility to ensure that your property is free from unreasonable safety hazards. This means that property owners can potentially be held liable for gun accident injuries that occur on their property or in the vehicle. However, Nevada homeowners and other non-commercial property owners have lower obligations than Nevada businesses. One of the primary obligations of all Nevada property owners is to warn guests about known safety hazards. For example, imagine that you own a considerable amount of land behind your home. On this land, you have a small shooting range. You allow your friends to use this range regularly for some informal target practice. In this scenario, you would have a legal duty to warn your guests about the existence of a safety failure at the shooting range. This is so your guests can take active measures to reduce their risk of being injured in a gun accident. The bottom line is that you may be held liable for the costs of a gun injury that occurred on your property if it is deemed that you failed to take reasonable care to protect your guests. If someone was injured by a gun on your property, or if you were injured in a Las Vegas area gun accident, you must contact an experienced attorney as soon as possible. You must act quickly to protect your legal rights.

Contact Our Office Today About Defective Gun Cases in Las Vegas

If you or a loved one was injured or killed as a result of a defective gun storage case, our compassionate legal team can help. The Las Vegas personal injury lawyers at the Ladah Injury & Car Accident Lawyers Las Vegas have extensive experience holding manufacturers liable for their defective products. Contact our Las Vegas office today at 702-252-0055 to set up a free consultation of your legal case. We serve clients throughout southern Nevada, including in Boulder City and Green Valley.

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