Georgia Court Finds Sig Sauer Pistol Fired on Its Own

Last week, a Georgia jury determined that a man’s Sig Sauer P320 pistol fired without pulling the trigger. The court awarded the man $2.3 million after the pistol fired unintentionally and hit him with a stray bullet.

A Sig Sauer P320.

Georgia Court Finds Sig Sauer P320 Fired Without Pulling the Trigger

Robert Lang, a self-described gun enthusiast with “hundreds of hours behind the trigger,” originally sued Sig Sauer in 2018. He said that as he drew his Sig P320 pistol from a holder, the gun fired and hit him in the thigh.

A jury found that Sig Sauer was negligently liable in the case. According to the jury, the P320’s design itself was the culprit, since the gun didn’t feature a trigger safety. Other similar pistols, notably from the Glock line, all feature safeties built into their triggers.

The attorneys for Mr. Lang called on Sig Sauer to redesign the P320 to address these safety concerns. That would be expensive, and probably involve a recall of all P320 pistols currently in circulation.

Sig Sauer counters that there are no problems inherent to the P320 itself. Instead, the company alleges that Lang accidentally fired the gun when he negligently handled it.

Sig Sauer responded in a statement that it disagrees with the jury’s decision. The company did say that it would appeal the verdict.

The Big Picture

This lawsuit is a big deal. The P320 is one of Sig’s flagship products, and one of the most popular pistols in the US. Court documents say that more than 2.5 of the guns have been sold since they hit the market in 2014.

The P320 is currently the US Army’s main sidearm. However, the military version of the gun features a thumb safety, which prevents the gun from firing by itself. The Army paid $580 million for its order of P320 pistols.

The pistol is also a popular sidearm for police departments nationwide.

This isn’t the first time that customers have taken Sig Sauer to court claiming a P320 fired by itself. The company has been the target of dozens of lawsuits since 2018, with civilians and law enforcement officers alike claiming the gun fired on its own.

This is the first time that a jury has ruled on one of these cases, although Sig has settled two cases out of court.

The P320 has a long history of controversy. In 2017, an online gun store drop tested the gun. Testing discovered that the gun could fire by itself if it hit the ground in the right way.

We definitely haven’t seen the end of this case, or of lawsuits surrounding the P320. We’ll keep you posted on any updates.