Wounded By His Holstered Gun Without Touching The Trigger, New York Detective Becomes Latest To Sue Sig Sauer For Designing And Manufacturing "America's Most Dangerously Defective Gun"

ALBANY, N.Y., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A Troy, New York police detective sergeant today became the latest shooting victim to sue gun manufacturer Sig Sauer, Inc. for allegedly designing and manufacturing "America's most dangerously defective gun" – the P320 semi-automatic pistol that has been linked to dozens of serious injuries among members of law enforcement and civilians whose weapons fired without them touching the trigger, according to the federal lawsuit filed here today by the Philadelphia-based law firm Saltz Mongeluzzi & Bendesky, P.C.

According to the complaint (Colwell v. Sig Sauer, Inc., U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, No. 1-21-CV-1200), Troy Police Det. Sgt. Michael Colwell (pictured in uniform) who with his wife and their three young children (6, 4, 10 months) lives in the Capital Region, sustained significant injuries when his holstered P320 fired a bullet into and through his right leg during a June 2, 2021 department training exercise. Sgt. Colwell is represented by Saltz Mongeluzzi & Bendesky attorneys Larry Bendesky, Robert W. Zimmerman, and Daniel L. Ceisler, Nicholas Gurney of Gurney Law  in Orlando, Florida, and Paul B. Sherr, of PBS Legal  in Castleton, NY. The multi-count complaint against New Hampshire-based Sig Sauer includes claims of design defect, negligence, breach of contract, and deceptive marketing practices, and seeks compensatory and punitive damages.

Det. Sgt. Colwell, who is on medical leave as he continues to require treatment as a result of his injuries, stated, "My life and the lives of my wife and children were forever changed when my service issued P320 fired without me touching the trigger. I consider it my duty to hold the maker of this defective firearm accountable for myself, for my family, and for every other person throughout the country who may be at risk from this gun model. I hope and pray there will be an end to the Sig Sauer P320 firing un-commanded, but fear that won't occur until the gun is pulled from the market."

"Contrary to its advertising slogan – Safety Without Compromise – this case is the latest example of how defendant Sig Sauer has completely compromised and undermined safety, and put at least one-half million P320 users at risk of catastrophic injury and death," said attorney Robert Zimmerman, of SMB. "As the lawsuit details, the P320 service weapon that shot Sgt. Colwell without him ever touching the trigger was an un-commanded and unintended firing just waiting to happen."

According to attorney Nicholas S. Gurney, of Gurney Law, PLLC, "From a product safety standpoint, Det. Sgt. Colwell and many others are needless victims of Sig Sauer's refusal to accept hard evidence – witness statements, physical evidence, and even videos – showing the P320 is capable of firing without a trigger pull.  This defendant has repeatedly claimed the P320 'meets U.S. standards for safety' while neglecting to mention that firearm design is virtually unregulated in the United States (15 U.S.C. §2052(a)(5)(E), referencing 26 U.S.C. §4181)."

Attorney Paul Sherr, an attorney in Castleton, New York, and serving as local counsel, stated, "Sgt. Colwell is a highly respected professional. I am appalled as a member of this great New York community that officers and civilians remain at risk of un-commanded gunfire from the Sig Sauer P320."

Sgt. Colwell's legal team is involved in the representation of numerous other wounded P320 plaintiffs – including other law enforcement officers and federal agents - who have either filed lawsuits against Sig Sauer or whose cases will soon be filed. The P320 legal team has been retained and filed a complaint last week in an Oklahoma case starkly similar to Det. Colwell's and others where the victim's P320 fired without a trigger pull. For more information, including a forensic animation depicting the defective design of the P320, visit P320: Dangerously Designed.

SOURCE Saltz Mongeluzzi & Bendesky, PC