Taser Death

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Magana, Cathcart & McCarthy - Carter P. Spohn

TASER International Inc. lost its first products liability case on June 6, 2008 when a jury awarded damages of more than $6 million in the wrongful death lawsuit of a 40-year old California man. Robert Heston was intoxicated with methamphetamine when he was subjected by police officers to approximately 25 discharges from multiple TASER electronic control devices: the lawsuit claimed the shocks from the TASER contributed to his death.

Another wrongful death lawsuit was filed in August of 2008 when a former police officer was accused of shocking a handcuffed man nine times with a Taser stun gun: A coroner ruled the death was a homicide. More than 59 wrongful death lawsuits have been filed against the company since the TASER went on the market. Up until June 2008, TASER International had never lost a products-liability suit. In October 2005 the family of 24-year-old Keith Graff who died after being shocked with a TASER by Arizona police officers filed a suit claiming TASER misrepresented its weapons as far as safety issues were concerned. It alleged the company disregarded safety warnings and data from researchers and examiners that had looked into the effects and possible effects of TASER use. TASERS and stun guns are high-voltage, low-amperage devices that cause involuntary muscle contractions, loss of body control, and extreme pain and fatigue. They have been linked to various physiological affects including cardiac arrests, respiratory failure, malfunction of pace-makers, damaged eyes, injury to the central nervous system, and death. And TASERS can cause a miscarriage when used on a pregnant woman (police would find it difficult to determine whether a female suspect is pregnant). According to Amnesty International, more than 300 Americans have died after being "Tased", and at least one pregnant mother has lost her unborn child. From 2002 to 2005, an alarming 211 children were zapped with TASERS in the United States and one 14-year-old boy in a Chicago children's home had a heart attack after police used a TASER on him. TASERS can be used to stop suspects from up to 21 feet away, although police say 12 to 15 feet is the 'optimal range'. The TASER delivers a paralyzing 50,000 volt shock to the body through metal probes attached to 21-foot wires that are fired from the TASER using a nitrogen propellant. . When police fire the device, the probes penetrate the skin or up to 1” of clothing per probe to deliver a shock. Sgt. John Braisington of the Oswego police department volunteered to get tasered. The Post Standard newspaper reported that Braisington "screamed and his body twitched as the jolts traveled through him." Another police officer said "It locks you up like a two-by-four…You can't do anything." Police are trained to aim for a person's chest or back area and the jolt "makes their body freeze and forces them to the ground." Braisington also said the person recovers "after a few seconds." But that was back in 2004. TASER International has also been criticized for their aggressive marketing tactics: the company has been accused of misrepresenting the dangers of their product and subtly encouraging its use in improper situations. Further, the Arizona Republic newspaper reported that company officials claimed that a Department of Defense study was "independent" proof of the TASER's safety—even though TASER International provided most of the research material used in the study and participated in three panels to determine the scope of the study, analyze data, and review findings. An investigation is currently underway by the public safety committee of the Canadian House of Commons and British Columbia's Braidwood Inquiry after the death of Robert Dziekanski, a Polish immigrant who was tasered at least twice by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) after waiting 10 hours for his mother at the Vancouver International Airport. Forty-year-old Dziekanski did not speak English. A widely-publicized video shows that the distressed man posed no threat to the RCMP. TASER International Inc. was founded in 1991 and in 1994 the non-firearm TASER was developed, which allowed it to bypass federal and state laws governing firearms. By 1998 the company began marketing the Taser Model M26 to police departments and law enforcement agencies and private buyers who had previously bought TASERS for personal protection.

Taser Death Legal Help

If a loved one has suffered from a Taser usage resulting in death, please click the link below and your complaint will be sent to a lawyer who may evaluate your claim at no cost or obligation.