Sanders v. American Body Armor And Equipment, Inc.

652 So.2d 883 (1995)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P was a law enforcement officer killed on July 26, 1990, while participating in an undercover investigation. P died of two bullet wounds--one to the abdomen and one to the chest--both fatal, and both inflicted 'split seconds' apart. P was shot 15 times, and the body armor worked for 13 of the shots. The bullet in the abdomen missed the armor altogether, and the bullet in the chest got through the seam of the best where the front and back panels joined. One bullet came from the weapon of an assailant, and one, inadvertently, from the weapon of a fellow officer. P was wearing a vest manufactured and sold by D, which met specifications prepared and submitted by the Sheriff's Office. The Sheriff's Office specifications provided for a 'buttfit' style, which P was wearing at the time of his death. The 'area of the body at the point of joinder on each side of the chest was not protected, because the panels did not overlap. One of the fatal bullets entered P's body at this unprotected point. The other fatal bullet entered his abdomen at a point below and outside of the vest area. P sued D alleging that D was negligent in failing to warn that its buttfit style vest provided limited protection at its edges and abutment areas. P got the verdict. The trial court's directed verdict was based in part on the court's reasoning that the bullet to P's chest was not the proximate cause of his death, because he would have died nevertheless from the bullet to his unprotected abdomen. P appealed.