In August 2014, an instructor at an Arizona shooting range was killed after a 9-year-old girl shot him in the head. The recoil of the Uzi forced the gun upward, and although the 39-year-old instructor was flown to a hospital in Las Vegas, he died.
The family of the instructor has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the range owners and operators, who are from Nevada. The girl and her family have not been named in the lawsuit.
At the time of the accident, the owners said the parents signed waivers, which stated that the rules were understood. The parents were close by when the accident occurred. No criminal charges were filed.
According to the attorney for the victim's family, the girl should never have been allowed to fire "a fully-automatic Uzi that shoots over 1,000 rounds a minute."
The firearms instructor left behind a wife and four children, who say they don't blame the 9-year-old. They have worked diligently to keep weapons like Uzis from being in the hands of young children. Senator Edward Markey released a statement recently that announced The HEART Act, which has the goal of prohibiting "the transfer of a machine gun or a semiautomatic weapon to anyone under the age of 16."
When you lose someone you love because of another person's negligence or recklessness, you have a right to file a wrongful death lawsuit. A successful lawsuit can help with your loved one's final medical expenses, funeral expenses and more. This can help ease the financial burden caused by your loved one's death.
Source: NY Daily News, "Family of Arizona shooting range instructor accidentally killed by 9-year-old girl with Uzi files wrongful death lawsuit against business," David Boroff, Aug. 25, 2016