Texas-Book-Gun Law Armed And Educated - Flipbook - Page 406
II. WHAT MIGHT YOU BE SUED FOR? GUN-RELATED CLAIMS IN
CIVIL COURTS
A. Liability for unintentional discharge
This section deals with accidental or unintentional discharges of
your firearm. Common unintentional discharges are associated with
hunting and cleaning accidents or the mishandling of a weapon.
Intentional shootings are addressed in the following section.
With that said, the following are the types of civil claims that may
be asserted in connection with an unintentional discharge.
1. Negligence/gross negligence
Most civil cases for damages resulting from an accidental discharge
will include a negligence or gross negligence claim. What does
this mean, and what does a plaintiff have to prove before they can
win? Under Texas law, negligence is defined “as the failure to use
ordinary care, that is, failing to do that which a person of ordinary
prudence would have done under the same or similar circumstances,
or doing that which a person of ordinary prudence would not have
done under the same or similar circumstances.” Thota v. Young,
366 S.W.3d 678, 683 (Tex. 2021). If a person fails to use ordinary
care, then they have acted negligently and will be liable for
damages resulting from their conduct. “Ordinary care” means the
degree of care that would be used by a person of ordinary prudence
under the same or similar circumstances. This is an “objective
standard,” meaning, the test is not whether you believed you acted
prudently, but whether the judge or jury believes you acted as a
person of ordinary prudence would have acted. Of course, this is
the definition of negligence in the civil context. There is actually
a different definition of criminal negligence, which is beyond the
scope of this book’s discussion.
I’m Being Sued For What? | 395
