São Paulo court orders payments for Taurus firearm defect and rodeo bull injury cases

The Tribunal de Justiça de São Paulo upheld a decision requiring the firearms manufacturer Taurus to reimburse the state with R$ 76,000 after a police investigator was seriously injured by an accidental discharge of a Taurus pistol in 2013. The court found a design flaw that caused the weapon to fire when impacted, rejecting the company's claim that no technical defect existed.

In a separate case, the São Paulo court ordered the municipality of Avaré and the organizers of a rodeo event to pay R$ 10,000 to a young man whose arm was fractured when a bull escaped a pen and entered the arena before a concert by singer Ana Castela. Thirteen people were injured in the incident, and the judge ruled the organizers failed to ensure public safety, emphasizing that the event was not an act of force majeure.

Both rulings highlight civil liability judgments in São Paulo involving injuries caused by equipment failure and inadequate event security.