Mass shooting devastation leads to class action lawsuit petition

On Behalf of | Feb 2, 2018 | Blog

You may be one of many Hawaii residents who were shocked and dismayed last October when a mass shooting occurred in another state. Reporters labeled the tragedy the worst of its kind in the nation’s history. In the aftermath of those tragic events, you may have heard (or even participated in) discussions and contentious debates regarding firearms and Second Amendment rights. In this particular situation, the focus was on a particular product known as a bump stock.

If you’re knowledgeable about firearms, you may already know that a bump stock allows a shooter to fire his or her weapon at nearly automatic speeds. After the rampage that was documented as the nation’s worst-ever mass assault, legal representatives acting on the behalves of witnesses to the shooting petitioned the court for a class action lawsuit against bump stock manufacturers.

Main factors of this class action case

You have likely attended a music festival or some other public event in your lifetime. Those in attendance at the 2017 music festival in Nevada (where the mass shooting took place) were caught in the 10-minute onslaught of bullets that came from a nearby hotel window. The following information explains the main issues in the class action lawsuit filed by three witnesses to the events:

  • The three survivors who have joined together as plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit say that manufacturers of bump stock products acted fraudulently in their marketing, thus placing them and the general public at risk.
  • The claim also states that the company who made the bump stock the shooter had attached to his gun did nothing to prevent its products from being sold to people who should not have them.
  • Because Congress passed a law in 2005 that protects manufacturers of firearm products from liability when someone uses their products to commit a crime, some were doubtful that the plaintiffs claim would be successful.
  • The National Rifle Association, however, surprised many when it publicly announced its support of proposed bump stock regulation.
  • The plaintiffs are seeking punitive damages. They have also requested that the court order the bump stock manufacturer in this case to pay for supervised psychological monitoring for all those adversely affected by the mass shooting tragedy that occurred.

It will likely be some time before this situation is fully litigated in court. However, it’s not only cases that involve mass crimes against humanity that are open to class action lawsuits. For instance, if you were to suffer injury after taking a particular form of medication or while you were using a product you had purchased from a store, you may be able to find others who suffered similar injuries, then submit a request for a class action lawsuit to seek restitution for harm done.