Pistol Fired on Its Own, Woman Says

DALLAS (CN) - A .45-caliber handgun fired without the trigger being pulled, an injured woman claims in court.

Kelly Sturdevant sued Houston-based High Standard Manufacturing Co. and Las Vegas-based Armscor International in Dallas County Court on July 21.

She claims Chris Sturdevant bought the 1911 USA .45 ACP High Standard handgun from a gun dealer at the Mesquite Gun Show in September 2013.

"Later that day, Mr. Sturdevant and plaintiff were target shooting with the handgun in question, when suddenly without warning, the handgun in question fired without the trigger being pulled," the complaint states. "Mr. Sturdevant loaded the magazine clip with .45 AACP ammunition and inserted the magazine clip into the handgun in question. Mr. Sturdevant then pulled the side of the handgun backwards and released the slide to chamber a round. As the slide of the handgun impacted the frame, the handgun fired and a bullet from a cartridge struck the plaintiff in her right leg."

Kelly Sturdevant says she suffers from "permanent, progressive and irreversible" injuries to her leg and body. She claims the gun was defectively designed and defectively manufactured.

Models of the 1911 pistol have been popular with members of the public for concealed carry due to its use of a thinner, single-stack magazine that makes the weapon easier to hide.

Originally designed by John Browning, the pistol was the standard-issue sidearm for the U.S. Armed Forces from its introduction in 1911 until 1985. Although it has been phased out by the Beretta M9 pistol, modern variants are still used by some units of the military.

High Standard did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Steven Anderson, Armscor's vice president for claims resolution, declined to comment on Thursday. He said the company has not received notice of any claim by Sturdevant.

Sturdevant seeks actual damages for negligence and products liability. She is represented by H. Grady Chandler, of Garland.

Follow @davejourno

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