Victim of ricochet has suffered various injuries, suit claims
A Faro man is suing a local gun club after he suffered a facial injury at its shooting range.
A Faro man is suing a local gun club after he suffered a facial injury at its shooting range.
Darren Fisk was hit in the face by a ricocheting bullet at the Tintina Gun Club range in Faro in July 2016.
Now, he is suing the club, claiming that the incident was caused by its negligence.
According to the suit recently lodged in the Yukon Supreme Court, on July 31, 2016, Fisk went to the shooting range to practise target shooting. He was watching other members when he was hit by the stray bullet.
He was stabilized at the Faro Health Centre, then medevaced to Whitehorse General Hospital for treatment.
As a result of the incident, Fisk suffered a concussion, a whiplash injury to his neck, impaired hearing in his left ear, and psychological injury, according to the suit.
He also still has a 8 x 6 mm foreign body permanently lodged in the muscle of his left cheek.
And he continues to suffer from the permanent injury to his cheek, neck and facial pain, headaches, impaired hearing, and sleep and mood disturbances.
The suit says the bullet ricocheted because two high-calibre hunting rifles were simultaneously shot at a steel target not designed for that type of firearm and placed at too short a distance on the shooting range.
It alleges that the incident was caused by the sole negligence of the gun club.
The club was negligent, the suit claims, for failing to:
• ensure that appropriate safety rules for the shooting range were applied and consistent with the type and calibre of firearms used;
• posting safety rules in a conspicuous place;
• informing newcomers to the range of the safety rules;
• having a person act as a range officer when more than one person was shooting;
• making sure the design and operation of the shooting range promoted the safety of all people and was adapted to allow the discharge of high-calibre hunting rifles;
• making sure the design, construction and placement of the targets on the shooting range were safe; and
• informing every person using the range about which calibre firearms could be used on what target and at what distance.
The injuries, loss and damage from the incident have caused Fisk to suffer pain, loss of enjoyment of life, permanent disability and loss of earnings, the suit claims.
It adds that Fisk has sustained certain special damages, and loss and expenses for medical treatment and that he continues to undergo medical care and treatment.
The suit claims general and special damages, pre-judgment interest, and costs.
The Tintina Gun Club has yet to respond to the suit, and the claims have not been heard in court.
Comments (10)
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mary laker on Jul 27, 2017 at 2:26 pm
I hope Mr. Fisk gets well. It sounds like some really bad life changing injuries. Chronic pain, concussion, hearing loss. He does need a settlement I would think, to pursue getting better. I hope there is an insurance policy, and they pay up, and everyone moves on. I would imagine the range has already changed around a few things so this never happens again.
Get well soon! I feel for you, Darren Fisk.
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Just Sayin' on Jul 27, 2017 at 10:57 am
Some questions, where blood tests completed? Was drinking occurring while everyone was shooting? Faro and another community are the only places in the Yukon where one can drink in public. The only thing I can see is natural selection is a myth and was never in effect as the dumb are inheriting the Earth.
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YukonMax on Jul 26, 2017 at 2:12 pm
And here comes the lawsuit under the watchful eyes of your MAYOR who's also the Tintina Gun Club president. Good luck!
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Pete on Jul 26, 2017 at 8:41 am
Even the most experienced shooter can mess-up as happend to an RCMP constable shooting pistol at the Whitehorse Gun Club range in the basement of the old school. This was many years ago and due to a miss-firing auto, he put a round through his hand.
No one was at fault. Things which no one could ever account for, simply happen.
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Groucho d'North on Jul 25, 2017 at 5:55 pm
This whole enterprise is a crap shoot. Even with video, the RCMP Investigative Unit would struggle to make sense out of the situation and what failed resulting in the injury. Stick to the basic geometry and ballistics, who was where and why, who was shooting and were the range rules followed and the truth will emerge, but that's dry and boring, so let's all speculate on the final outcome now.
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Roger on Jul 25, 2017 at 2:24 am
@at home
You assume that he and others were acting appropriately on the range and was injured anyway, and basically that because he was injured and that is the sole factor in determining that he should be paid by insurance. Thoughtful.
If the range has done their due diligence in policies and outlaying the range...they should not be held accountable if people show up and do stupid things. I am in no way saying they didn't follow rules...I was never at the range, but I am not discounting that possibility.
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At home in the Yukon on Jul 23, 2017 at 11:28 pm
Let's see, a guy goes to a shooting range. He is where he has the right to be, and he gets shot. Isn't the entire purpose of a structured shooting range to make sure that people can shoot without others being shot?
I hope for Mr. Fisk's sake that the shooting range has insurance. If so, they need to pay up, and this need not be in court. If not, laws need to be in place to insure that structured shooting ranges be required to have insurance.
In any case, it doesn't give me any warm fuzzy about how this range was managed.
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June Jackson on Jul 23, 2017 at 12:41 pm
I know nothing about guns, but i'm going to weigh in on an opinion anyway.
Mr. Fisk was at the shooting range to practice target shooting, which would indicate that he has knowledge of guns. Given that he has knowledge of guns, it would follow that he should have had some awareness himself of distances, what weapon was being directed at what target, impact, and consequences. To some extent given that basic knowledge, would he not have been responsible for looking out for his own safety while on a shooting range?
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Jeff Donaldson on Jul 22, 2017 at 7:13 pm
Sounds like my military career.
Every member of a shooting club should be given an RSO intro course prior to membership. Every visitor should be walked through the club rules by the club member or if they show up on their own should not be permitted unless invited by a member.
If they were shooting at steel gongs not placed far enough away from the firing line a possible ricochet could happen however they would have to have been very close. The falling plates or gongs are placed at a minimum 100m/y from the firing line. If Mr Lisk was standing directly on the firing line while the rifles were firing an Rso should have ceased all firing.
Whiplash? Wow I had a .50 round cook off in the breech once on a range however that round is like a quarter stick of Dynamite. Kinda strange incident this one and I agree with Roger if he wins that range is done and the CFO will probably review all range practices in other rural locations.
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Roger on Jul 22, 2017 at 4:28 am
Two fired simultaneously. So one or the other fired independently wouldn't have caused it? Any proof of that?
Were they on the wrong range using rifles or were the rifle ranges designed incorrectly. Big difference.
Whiplash? From a ricochet? Interesting.
I hope he doesn't like using the rifle range cause if he does and by some manner manages to win this (although I doubt that). His lawsuit will no doubt shut down the range.