A group of law enforcement officers, military veterans and civilians filed civil lawsuits against Sig Sauer last week, claiming the company’s popular P320 pistol fired without an intentional trigger pull, causing, for some victims, serious and life-altering injuries.
Sig Sauer has not yet responded to the court filings, but the Newington gunmaker has called similar lawsuits baseless.
“The P320 pistol, like all firearms, is designed to discharge only when the trigger is pulled. The new complaint makes clear that for each of these plaintiffs, the P320 involved had the trigger pulled by the user,” Samantha Piatt, a company spokesperson, told NHPR. “This is not a defect.”
The new lawsuits — 22 in total — are the latest mass action that alleges the P320 has a design or manufacturing flaw that makes it susceptible to unintentional firings. The lawsuit describes guns firing “suddenly and unexpectedly,” echoing claims made in dozens of previously filed lawsuits around the country.
“User-victims are being shot by P320s when their hands aren’t even on the gun,” said attorney Robert Zimmerman, who has filed previous cases against Sig Sauer.
The P320 is one of the country’s most popular pistols, and a version of the gun is carried by branches of the U.S. military, as well as law enforcement agencies around the country.
In 2017, a prominent online gun shop raised concerns about the P320’s risk of firing when dropped from certain angles, which prompted the company to launch a voluntary upgrade of the gun, including a new trigger.
Since then, the company has faced repeated lawsuits over its safety. The company has settled some claims, and has prevailed in court, including in a recent case out of Puerto Rico. But two juries — one in Georgia, another in Pennsylvania — have sided with injured gun owners in recent months, awarding multi-million payouts.
Earlier this month, the company took to social media to defend its product, in part claiming that the lawsuits were part of a coordinated movement against gun rights.
“Industry, take notice; what’s happening today to Sig Sauer with the anti-gun mob and their lawfare tactics will happen tomorrow at another firearms manufacturer, and then another. Today, for Sig Sauer - it ends,” the company wrote on X.
Previous reporting by NHPR found that the military has recorded its own series of unintentional discharges involving the gun despite the additional safety features. The military denies the weapon poses any danger to soldiers.
