The widow of a man accidentally shot when a Remington rifle misfired has reached a settlement with the gun manufacturer, says Frenkel & Frenkel.
Monica Wood, the widow of Robert L. Wood Jr., agreed to a confidential settlement in a lawsuit she filed against Remington Arms Company, LLC in the shooting death of her husband. The lawsuit claimed that Mr. Wood died due to a faulty trigger assembly on a popular Remington rifle. Accident Details According to court documents, Mr. Wood was on a hunting trip with his father, Robert L. Wood Sr., and four family friends in November 2011. The senior Mr. Wood had purchased a 2005 Remington Model 700-270 bolt-action rifle at an auction in July 2011, and took it with him on the hunting trip. At about 5:15 a.m., on November 11, the senior Mr. Wood loaded the rifle, which was lying in a case on the tailgate of a pickup truck. He chambered a round and closed the gun’s bolt with his hands nowhere near the trigger or trigger guard, and the gun fired, striking Robert Wood Jr. as he rounded the back of the truck. The round struck Mr. Wood in the buttocks and exited his hip. He died from blood loss due to the injuries. Hundreds of Incidents The lawsuit claimed that Remington was negligent and that the company had knowledge of hundreds of other incidences where this model rifle fired without the trigger being pulled. Remington is currently the subject of class-action lawsuits in Montana for other incidents involving misfiring weapons. A news report by CNBC in 2010 found multiple incidents of misfiring involving Remington rifles as well. Remington Response In regard to the Wood lawsuit, Remington denied any wrongdoing in an answer filed in court in February. The company claims that the injuries and damages were caused by the acts or omissions of others over which Remington had no control. However, in mid-October, the company agreed to settle the Wood case for an undisclosed amount, requiring that the terms and conditions of the settlement remain confidential. When a product defect is suspected as the cause or a contributing factor in an accident that causes injury or death, a product liability claim may be in order. Contact Dallas-Fort Worth lawyers at Frenkel & Frenkel to arrange a free initial consultation regarding a product defect where injuries may have been caused or worsened by a defective product.
