Liabilities of commercial business teaching reloading?

R

rookie wildcat

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So, got asked a question today by the owner of a local gun shop. "If I taught a reloading course to build interest, how far-reaching are the liabilities?"

I was stumped. I mean, how far-reaching is stupid?
My answer, finally, was, "How liable are you when you sell a gun?" "Are you responsible if someone commits a crime with it?"
Anyone know any better?
 
lots of reloading manuals have sections where they "teach " you how to reload . if a person didn't go beyond what is taught in a reloading manual , the person doing the teaching could point to the manual as the source of information ....


i'd also make everyone sign a waiver .
 
Certainly not a legal opinion by any means, but my opinion is that as long as he covers the bases of reloading and safety and doing it step by step by the book then I would not think he would have any liability. Lawyers of course will differ.
He could do a "test" at the end and refuse to "graduate" those who need more training, but that's not to say they couldn't buy equipment and load anyway, but it would give him some recourse if there were an incident.

IMO it would be hard for a court to prove liability for him if the reloader made a mistake that caused an injury.

If you compare it to driving schools, they teach you to drive, you get tested, you pass/fail, test again etc eventually get a license to drive...........but no one sues the school when the driver causes an incident
 
jethunter said:
The business owner should consult a lawyer and his liability insurance provider.
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Bingo.

Even if it isn't illegal the insurance provider could say he was taking undo risks or whatnot and deny his claim when sued. Talking to his insurance provider is the best bet.

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Personally when I've taught friends to reload I still don't give specific load data or any information specific to a cartridge. I "forget" everything I've learned from my own experience and point to starting loads in published data.
 
"...should consult a lawyer and his liability insurance provider..." Yep.
"...got asked a question..." Why did he ask you about his liability?
 
your insurance advisor is on your side. give them all the info they need to give you proper advice. this topic is right up their alley.

a test is a GREAT idea. make sure that the test is comprehensive enough that for somebody to have an accident they would have to act contrary to their answers on the test. that way the business owner would have in the claimants own handwriting that they were taught better, and understood proper procedures when they left the classroom, and the accident was caused by their subsequent decision to knowingly apply unsafe practices. don't pass anybody whos test answers leave room for accidents.
 
lawyers have a vested interest in you getting sued.
insurance providers have a vested interest in you avoiding liability.

lawyers charge for advice.
insurance suppliers give free advice.

call the insurance provider.
 
sunray said:
"...got asked a question..." Why did he ask you about his liability?
Click to expand...
Because he knows I have taught several people to reload? Actually, the conversation was a bit more involved. I asked when he was going to get his reloading supplies in (no idea with the way things are going WRT US suppliers) and he said, again, that he knew nothing about reloading and would I be willing to teach him? That evolved into a deliberate set of classes in the store. He was all for it, until, his employee spoke up and said, "What if you teach someone here and then they blow up their gun at home claiming that you said the load was okay in your class?". The conversation died right there when I couldn't answer a liability issue. I tried to explain that it was no different if he had put up a sign that said slippery when wet and someone deliberately slipped there. Same liability. Even as a the owner of a gun shop, he does not have much love for guns or shooting so they are "bad" but they sell well in this area and since Candian Tire sells them, he figured he had to as well. ANY kind of hiccup would shut him down.
 
I am not a lwayer, but my opinion is that he can teach the class but cannot let them reload live rounds. Any mis-use, accident or issue with live rounds loaded in the class could be a problem. I know that buying/selling/trading reloads can cause all sorts of issues: having an accidnet with one and getting sued could be a real problem. They wouldn't have to win, just make you go bankrupt defending yourself.

But again: opinion and not a lawyer.
 
Personally I would be willing to teach someone to reload. It would be buy the book and if you mess up well that's too bad for you.
IMO no different than teaching anyone anything - driving, flying, sailing, knot tying, whatever. If you pay attention you will be fine. If you don't you could have some problems.
 
RW - Sounds like you are the one that would be giving the course, and you taking the liability. If you dont have any substantial assets, (ie young) then you could easily manage the risk directly.
However, I really dont see the upside for the store owner - he can make more money just selling ammo.
 
I have taught several guys how to reload. The basics of reloading from start to finish is easy to teach. When it comes time for primer selection, powder selection (and quantity), bullet selection, seating depth, crimp etc. thats where the reloading manuals come into play. The disclaimer mentioned in reloading manuals, powders, primers, etc is good enough to keep you from getting your @ss sued off.
 
If someone got hurt and tried to sue you might be liable but realisticly... how would anyone prove you actually taught them and if they make the mistake how can the prove it was your bad teaching that caused it and not a stupid mistake they made on there part. On top of that the person that got hurt would have to want to sue you on top of it so realisticly I don't see a problem..
 
Realistically speaking, do people sue their driving instructor if they get into a car accident 6 months after they complete a driving course? Doesn't happen a lot I bet.... but I'd also bet those driving instructors have some sort of liability insurance to cover that eventuality.
 
Liability comes in to play if you are NEGLIGENT. And the person would have to prove you were negligent.
A competent instructor would have nothing to worry about
 
Another myth - that companies lower their published loads on the advice of their lawyers, and that individuals have been sued for posting unsafe loads. Same idea with reloading manuals and courses - there's always a disclaimer.

I am willing to admit to being wrong if one person can show one example of a successful suit.
 
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