Faraci Lange Attorney and Managing Partner, Stephen Schwarz, is representing Hilton residents Kevin and Aimee Flannery in a civil lawsuit against the two men who shot and seriously injured Kevin Flannery while target shooting without the proper safety precautions.
In October 2016, Kevin Flannery was mowing his lawn in the rural area of Parma, New York when shots were fired from almost half a mile away and he was struck in his stomach.
More than an hour later, Flannery was taken to the University of Rochester Medical Center during which he had lost a dangerous amount of blood.
Extensive injuries were found, including the loss of half of Flannery's liver and his right kidney, damage to his bowel, muscle, and ribs, as well as a large hole in his back from the bullet's exit wound.
The next week and a half consisted of Flannery going through six major surgeries, during which he was kept chemically paralyzed and unconscious. After waking up, he remained on a ventilator in the intensive care unit for several weeks.
The two men who were found at the scene explained that they had been target shooting in a cornfield behind Flannery's house and admitted that they failed to use any kind of backstop behind the target in order to contain the bullets.
They were arrested on the spot and were arraigned on charges of assault and reckless endangerment.
After the criminal charges against the two men who shot Flannery were dismissed in August of 2017, Kevin and his wife Aimee filed a civil lawsuit a few months later with the help of their attorney Stephen Schwarz.
"The most important thing is for them to get some compensation for what they've been through," stated Schwarz. "We'll be alleging basically that (the defendants) were more than negligent, they were reckless, and we'll be seeking punitive damages."
Although it is unclear which of the defendants fired the shot that ultimately hit Flannery, it remains irrelevant in the case.
According to Schwarz, "The law provides that when two people are negligent it's their burden to prove who did it. And if they cannot, then both are legally liable."