Defective firearms can cause serious and unexpected injuries. Moreover, a lack of federal safety regulations covering the manufacturing of firearms can cause more of these defective guns to make their way into consumers’ hands.
Lack of regulatory oversight
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) does not oversee the manufacturing of firearms. The firearms industry is one of only a few industries exempt from federal manufacturing safety regulations promulgated by the CPSC.
This means the CPSC cannot require firearms manufacturers to have their products tested for safety before being placed on store shelves. The CPSC also cannot require firearms manufacturers to recall defective guns.
Remington rifle defects continue
Remington rifles have a longstanding history of being defective. Specifically, defects in the triggers of the firearms can cause them to go off unexpectedly, even if the trigger is not activated. Researchers have documented dozens of deaths and many injuries that they believe are related to the defects.
Despite being defective, Remington was not required to recall the malfunctioning rifles, because they were not regulated by the CPSC. Remington, in fact, determined fixing the defect would be too costly and played down how often these defects caused injury.
Eventually a class action lawsuit was filed against Remington. It was settled, and millions of Remington rifles were recalled. However, even when people returned the rifles and got them repaired, some claim that the replacement triggers did not stop the guns from malfunctioning.
Remington has since filed for bankruptcy. However, those who want to sue Remington for injuries caused by defective rifles may still be able to do so.