Ballistics Expert Analyzes Catastrophic Malfunction Caused by Reloaded Ammunition

Case Overview

This case involves a malfunction of a handgun that resulted in serious injuries to the operator. The plaintiff rented a 9 millimeter pistol at a shooting range that he visited regularly. He went onto a stall in the shooting range and loaded several rounds of ammunition that had been reloaded by a prominent ammunition supplier into a factory issue magazine. He fired several rounds of the ammunition without incident, until he felt an impact and sharp pain in his left eye. The gun slide had split in half, and a piece of the broken slide deflected and hit him in the left eye. The Plaintiff claimed that the gun sounded much louder than it should have been at the time of the malfunction. As a result of the impact, the patient suffered serious injuries, and was forced to undergo surgery to repair his eye. Nevertheless, the Plaintiff has continued to suffer from a loss of vision in his left eye. The Plaintiff alleged that the reloaded ammunition was defective, causing the gun to malfunction catastrophically.

Questions to the Firearms expert and their responses

Do you have familiarity with reloaded ammunition?

I have previously worked for a commercial re-manufacturer of reloads, like the ones described.

Could a defect in the ammunition have caused a malfunction of this nature?

There is a possibility of ammunition being loaded with too much propellant, which can cause a dangerous amount of pressure to build in the chamber and/or barrel of the gun, resulting in a catastrophic malfunction similar to the one described in this case.

About the expert

This expert has over 10 years of experience as an authority on firearm law. He currently provides his expertise to a variety of clients in need of accurate assessment of firearm analysis, and bullet trajectory. His primary areas of expertise are standard firearms, machine guns, silencers, ammunition testing, shooting scene reconstruction, crime scene reconstruction, and other weaponry (i.e. spears, knives, explosives, etc.).

E-006690

Specialties:

Firearms