Inspired in Bucks, U.S. seeks BB gun recall

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Tucker Mahoney, 17, was disabled after being shot with a BB gun. The gun maker and seller settled.

By Kristin E. Holmes
Inquirer Staff Writer
SATURDAY, MARCH 17, 2001

A Bucks County teenager who suffered massive brain damage when he was hit in the head with a pellet from a BB gun his lawyers say was defective will receive a settlement, according to court documents.

The settlement for Tucker Mahoney, 17, of Solebury, is the result of a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court against Daisy Manufacturing, an Arkansas company that produced the BB gun, and Kmart Corp., which sells the gun at its chain of discount stores.

Lawyers for Mahoney and his parents, Jerome and Rebecca Mahoney, contended that the gun was defective because it appeared to be empty when it was not.

"They are lethal toys — two words that don't go together," said Shanin Specter, who represented the Mahoneys.

Jack Wall, the attorney who represented Kmart and Daisy Manufacturing, denied that the gun was defective and said that Mahoney's injuries were caused by the "reckless conduct" of a friend, Ellsworth "Ty" Weatherby 4th, who fired the pellet that injured Mahoney.

In May 1999, Mahoney was hit behind the left ear with a pellet from a 7856 Daisy Power Line air gun. Weatherby and Mahoney believed that the gun was empty, court documents say. The two teenagers couldn't hear pellets rattling in the gun, and when they fired it earlier, no pellets were released, the documents say.

Part of the settlement will be deposited in a trust for Mahoney's care and rehabilitation, court records say. The remainder will pay attorneys' fees and expenses.

In the lawsuit, Shanin Specter contended that there were similar accidents with guns and that Daisy Manufacturing knew about them and fixed the problem in guns manufactured in 1999. But guns produced before then remained on the shelves, Specter said. One of those guns was a present to Mahoney on his 16th birthday, Specter said.

Wall said the guns were not changed to correct any defect. He said the changes were made to improve the product.

After the accident, Weatherby was charged with assault and reckless endangerment in Bucks County. Judge Kenneth G. Biehn ruled that his actions were delinquent but not criminal. Mahoney's parents also filed a civil lawsuit against Weatherby. To resolve that case, Weatherby's family paid a substantial sum of their insurance coverage to Mahoney, Specter said.

Mahoney now lives in Services School, a Langhorne facility that treats children and adults with brain injuries, mental retardation or emotional problems.

He is unable to walk or talk, said his mother, rebecca, but he is making progress. Funds raised by the New Hope-Solebury community have helped the family buy equipment and provide therapy, Rebecca Mahoney said.

"Every step Tucker makes ia a baby step, but he's making them in the right direction," Rebecca Mahoney said.