How many people in justified shootings are sued in PA?

[jcabin]

Move to Ohio. If it's a good shoot, the perpetrator has no cause of action against you.

Of course you have to ask just how many people involved in good shoots in PA get sued.

"Could happen" and "happens" are horses of a different ballgame.

So? Anyone have any figures on this? SD shootings don't seem to be common. You hear about them every once in a while. You never hear about that person getting sued though. Is there a reason for this? Do people generally not get sued after a justified SD shoot? Does the media down play it because it's not exciting enough? Or does the media generally not have access to civil lawsuits like they would with criminal trials?

[Azzy]

I would love something to use when I I hear Joe Schmo gunstore guy telling little old lady that "you dont want to use that because you are going to get sued for overkill" or other such nonsense.

[Steve_NEPhila]

There is no need to respond to any kind of unqualified statement.

Anyone can be sued for any reason at any time. Whether or not the case progresses to trial is another matter entirely. The sheer number of civil suits to sift through to find this kind of data is mind boggling. In short, I doubt this data exists and if it did it might not be entirely accurate.

[Azzy]

There is no need to respond to any kind of unqualified statement.

Thats all well and good, however, I find it a tad more useful when you can dispel lies with repeatable and search able facts. One of those reasons many people carry the OC pamphlet on them.

I can see how that data would be hard to pull together. Maybe the amount of criminal trials that go as non guilty in shootings and then do not go to civil trial?

[jcabin]

Anyone can be sued for any reason at any time. Whether or not the case progresses to trial is another matter entirely. The sheer number of civil suits to sift through to find this kind of data is mind boggling. In short, I doubt this data exists and if it did it might not be entirely accurate.

It would take some time, but it could be done. Look at all the SD shoots, get that persons information, cross reference it with civil suits.

I don't know if that can be done, or how to go about it. If anyones willing to point me in the right direction I would commit some time to coming up with accurate numbers.

[donm]

Maybe the amount of criminal trials that go as non guilty in shootings and then do not go to civil trial?

Worse than that. The burden of proof in a civil suit (preponderance of the evidence -- think 50.1% to a clueless jury) is much lower than a criminal trial (beyond a reasonable doubt). The fact that the DA didn't file charges because he didn't think he could convict you doesn't mean that you can't be sued and lose the farm. BTW, many of the state laws that bar civil suits do so only if you are deemed to be justified. If the DA just declines to press charges, the door could still be open.

[KMAG]

It is important to distinguish suits from settlements and judgements. In PA, the moving party (respondent) must prove by more than 50% that he or she should prevail. Other jurisdictions may have different standards - such as strict comparable negligence (cringe) - 0-100% scale for liability. In such a jurisdiction (NY for instance), the person suing need only prove 1% negligence to get a % recovery judgment from the other side. I moved to PA to avoid the environment caused by strict comparable negligence.

Just b/c a person is sued does not mean a judgment was issued (collection may present as a hurdle later). Sadly, it is often easier to offer some $$ to settle the matter than delay, loose sleep at night or reputation, and/or risk litigation. The norm is to seal settlement terms from disclosure and public review. As a result, you may not be able to discover the outcome of many of these suits.

[Recoil]

Just my 2 cents and if I rattle cages I don`t care.

First, why do you have a firearm? If it is for self defense then practice with it!! Become as magnificent as you can with it and then some because, no matter how magnificent we become, in a real gun fight we are going to be mediocre at best.

Second, the last thing I would be concerned about is the legal implications of drawing my weapon and\or, God forbid, discarching it in self defense is because I have exhausted any and all attempts of avoiding this.

Third, if I do draw my weapon, it is because my life or the life of a loved one is at stake and I intend to get the job done. So, that means, I am in dire straights at the time and it`s all on the line.

Now for numbers. The good part. Of people who are licensed to carry, 97% of them never need to draw their weapon to defend themselves. Of the 3 % who do, only 5% of those need to discharge their weapon. Simply having the weapon is 97%+ of winning the battle, which most likely will never occur.

So breaking down the numbers. Of 1000 people who carry, 30 will need to draw their weapon at some time in their life. Of those 30, 1.5 will need to discharge it to defend themselves. Out of those 1.5 people, what is the percentage of those who will be brought to civil suit?

[jcabin]

Just my 2 cents and if I rattle cages I don`t care.

First, why do you have a firearm? If it is for self defense then practice with it!! Become as magnificent as you can with it and then some because, no matter how magnificent we become, in a real gun fight we are going to be mediocre at best.

Second, the last thing I would be concerned about is the legal implications of drawing my weapon and\or, God forbid, discarching it in self defense is because I have exhausted any and all attempts of avoiding this.

Third, if I do draw my weapon, it is because my life or the life of a loved one is at stake and I intend to get the job done. So, that means, I am in dire straights at the time and it`s all on the line.

Now for numbers. The good part. Of people who are licensed to carry, 97% of them never need to draw their weapon to defend themselves. Of the 3 % who do, only 5% of those need to discharge their weapon. Simply having the weapon is 97%+ of winning the battle, which most likely will never occur.

So breaking down the numbers. Of 1000 people who carry, 30 will need to draw their weapon at some time in their life. Of those 30, 1.5 will need to discharge it to defend themselves. Out of those 1.5 people, what is the percentage of those who will be brought to civil suit?

What does that have to do with my question?

And can you cite those numbers or did you just make them up?

[Recoil]

What does that have to do with my question?

And can you cite those numbers or did you just make them up?

Those numbers were quoted by an instructor, so, I can`t provide a link or whatever. They are numbers I rely on to put things in perspective at times.

As to how it pertained to your question...I was simply trying to express my opinion, and maybe a bit strongly, of gun ownership as it pertains to owning a gun for the purpose of sport, collecting or self defense.

If I rattled the cage to much, my apologies.