Personal Injury Law

Chicago Family Wins Lawsuit For Accidental Shooting Wrongful Death Claim

Every day, five children under the age of 19 die as the result of an accidental shooting or suicide by gun. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, firearms (accidental, suicide and homicide) claim the lives of some 4,000 children under age 20 each year. Most of the deaths are preventable.

We recently represented a Chicago family for the accidental shooting death of their 16-year-old son. My client lived next door to a young girl whose father possessed a handgun. A young boy from the neighborhood asked the girl to provide him with the gun so he could look at it. When the girl handed the boy the gun, he refused to return it. Later that week the boy was showing my client the handgun when it accidentally fired, striking my client in the head and killing him.

We filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the shooter as well as the owner of the gun. The shooters family was insured by a homeowner's policy that covered the accidental shooting. We recovered 100% of the available insurance.

We also made a substantial recovery against the owner of the gun. After an arbitration hearing, the Judge ruled that it was negligent to leave a handgun in a place that was accessible to a child.

Unfortunately, most fatal firearm accidents occur when children and teens discover firearms at home that have been left loaded or unsecured. Because of the serious risk of firearm related death and injury to children, the decision to keep a firearm in the home is very serious and one that must not be made lightly.

Full post as published by Chicago Injury Attorney Blog on June 11, 2007 (boomark / email).