David Hakim who was accidentally shot by a colleague awarded $7.5 million
Hakim v. Safariland, 79 F. 4th 861 (2023)
Mr. Scanlan represented David Hakim, a deputy marshal with the U.S. Marshal Service Fugitive Task Force and the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office, and a SWAT team leader for the DuPage County SWAT team. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a jury verdict in favor of plaintiff awarding plaintiff $7.5 million dollars.
In 2014, David Hakim, the plaintiff, was accidentally shot by a colleague during a training exercise. The offending projectile was a “breaching shotgun round” manufactured by Safariland. Breaching rounds assist law enforcement officers in breaking down doors by disabling hinges and other attachments on door frames. When used as intended, they disintegrate harmlessly on impact with a metal attachment mechanism. Here, Hakim’s fellow officer missed the metal door hinge he was shooting at. The round struck wood, remained live and ultimately hit Hakim and entered his spine requiring immediate surgical intervention.
The literature accompanying the breaching rounds stated that the rounds disintegrated upon striking a hard surface. There was no warning that the round had to strike metal to disintegrate. Hakim alleged that: (1) the product was defectively manufactured because the round did not disintegrate upon striking a hard surface; (2) that the rounds were defectively designed; and (3) that Safariland failed to warn of the dangerous propensity of the rounds because they dd not warn that the rounds disintegrate when striking metal.
The jury returned a (1) not guilty verdict as to Count I-manufacturer defect and a not guilty verdict as to Count II-design defect. The jury found in favor of the plaintiff on Count III-failure to warn, and awarded plaintiff $7.5 million dollars. Safariland’s appeal was unsuccessful.
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