A group of law enforcement officers, military veterans and civilians filed civil lawsuits against Sig Sauer last week, claiming the company’s popular P320 pistol fired without an intentional trigger pull, causing, for some victims, serious and life-altering injuries.
Sig Sauer has not yet responded to the court filings, but the Newington gunmaker has called similar lawsuits baseless.
“The P320 pistol, like all firearms, is designed to discharge only when the trigger is pulled. The new complaint makes clear that for each of these plaintiffs, the P320 involved had the trigger pulled by the user,” Samantha Piatt, a company spokesperson, told NHPR. “This is not a defect.”
The new lawsuits — 22 in total — are the latest mass action that alleges the P320 has a design or manufacturing flaw that makes it susceptible to unintentional firings. The lawsuit describes guns firing “suddenly and unexpectedly,” echoing claims made in dozens of previously filed lawsuits around the country.
In 2017, a prominent online gun shop raised concerns about the P320’s risk of firing when dropped from certain angles, which prompted the company to launch a voluntary upgrade of the gun, including a new trigger.
Since then, the company has faced repeated lawsuits over its safety. The company has settled some claims, and has prevailed in court, including in a recent case out of Puerto Rico. But two juries — one in Georgia, another in Pennsylvania — have sided with injured gun owners in recent months, awarding multi-million payouts.
On March 7, 2025, Sig Sauer issued a confrontational statement defending the P320 pistol, which has been alleged in numerous lawsuits to fire on its own, causing over 100 injuries and at least one death. Sig Sauer claimed that the allegations against it are “nothing more than individuals seeking to profit or avoid personal responsibility.” In the face of mounting reports of unintentional discharges, Sig Sauer said the P320 “CANNOT, under any circumstances, discharge without a trigger pull.”
Instead, Sig Sauer blamed the “anti-gun mob and their lawfare tactics” for attacking the pistol design. “The rhetoric is high, and we can no longer stay silent while lawsuits run their course, and clickbait farming, engagement hacking grifters continue their campaign to highjack [sic] the truth for profit. Enough is enough.”
While Sig Sauer framed the message as a warning to other gun companies, it came two days after the Seattle Times published an article about the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission (WSCJTC) banning the P320 from all of its properties and training courses.
The decision is the latest blow to the Sig Sauer P320’s credibility. While the U.S. military first adopted two versions of the P320 (designated the M17 and M18 in service) as official sidearms in 2017 — a fact Sig Sauer uses liberally in its marketing materials — both guns feature thumb safeties to help prevent unintentional discharges. The vast majority of P320s sold to police and civilians feature no external safeties, however, and since 2017, law enforcement agencies in Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin have removed the P320 from duty due to safety concerns.
During their 3-13-25 ruling
SIG SAUER is pleased to announce the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico has officially entered an Order dismissing the lawsuit (Berrios v. Sig Sauer) alleging the P320 service weapon of police officer Elvis Ramon Green Berrios (the “Plaintiff”) discharged without the trigger being pulled. Mr. Berrios voluntarily dismissed his action against SIG SAUER admitting in court filed documents that his P320 pistol has no defects and does not discharge without a trigger pull.
Throughout the nearly three years of litigation in this lawsuit, SIG SAUER has vigorously defended the safety, quality, and manufacturing of the P320. This admission that the P320 is not defective was gained after SIG SAUER presented detailed scientific evidence showing that the P320 cannot fire without a trigger pull and contains no manufacturing defects. This decision marks the 18th frivolous or unsupported P320 unintentional discharge lawsuit dismissed against SIG SAUER.
“We are extremely pleased with the result in this case, which further demonstrates what so many in our industry already know: the P320 cannot fire without the trigger being pulled and is the gold-standard for safety, innovation, engineering, and quality, among striker-fired pistols,” said Samantha Piatt, Senior Director of Communications, SIG SAUER Inc. “As we continue to put to rest the malicious and misleading attacks against one of the most popular pistols ever made, we are committed to supporting the millions of law-abiding citizens, law enforcement agencies, and elite military units carrying our pistol every day around the world.”
The design of the SIG SAUER P320 is safe and innovative, with numerous related patents, including several relating to safety mechanisms. It is among the most tested, proven, and successful handguns in recent history, with versions being selected as the official sidearm of the U.S., Canadian, Australian, and Danish militaries, among many other military and law enforcement organizations worldwide. SIG SAUER is extremely proud of our long history of producing high-quality firearms and our unwavering dedication to safety.