PITTSBURGH — A Pennsylvania man has filed a lawsuit against the makers of a crossbow alleging he was seriously hurt when it misfired.
James Richard, of Enon Valley, filed the lawsuit Jan. 26 against Ravin Crossbows, LLC and Velocity Outdoor, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Richard alleged the companies implied the defective Ravin R9 Predator crossbow was safe, failed to warn or act on the dangers of it and breached their warranty.
Richard said he was gifted the crossbow by his brother in 2017. Two months later, his brother sent him new nocks and directions on how to replace them, but didn't explain why they were needed.
Nevertheless, Richard said he installed the new accessories and two years later took the bow to go hunting. Richard said when he went to safely "de-cock" the bow it failed to fire and then unexpectedly fired as he attempted to re-nock a "dummy" arrow. Richard said as a result he was seriously hurt and he even had to have a partial amputation on his left index finger.
Richard filed the suit on charges of strict products liability, negligence and breach of warranty. He's seeking financial compensation.