The controversial company behind the country’s most popular stun gun among law enforcement officers, Taser International, has finally lost a product liability lawsuit over one of its products.  Though Taser has quietly settled dozens of lawsuits, this is the first time that a jury has defied Taser’s claims that its products are essentially harmless and found that not only did the Taser M26 used to shock Robert Heston before his death contribute to the death but, more importantly, that Taser International was liable for failing to provide adequate warning in its training and promotional materials that the stun device had potential lethality.

The jury awarded Robert Heston’s family $1 million in compensatory damages and a whopping $5.2 million in punitive damages.  Though they determined that Heston was 85% comparatively negligent in his death, only the compensatory award will be reduced; the punitive damage award will remain.

Much more on the judgment is available from the righteously indignant commentator at www.excited-delirium.com, one of Total Injury’s favorites on the web.