Martian, anyone who carries any personal liability insurance - be it renters or homeowners - has coverage, provided that it's not specifically excluded and that they're not doing anything illegal.
As for my example, look at it this way: the injured person wasn't driving. He was a passenger whose buddy made a bad decision. He didn't do anything wrong, and his care is going to cost millions of dollars. If the buddy's estate doesn't have anything to it, then who's going to pay for this guy's care? Should his brother and/or sister be bankrupted for the buddy's bad decision?
American juries rarely act unemotionally. It's part of the system, especially on the civil side. It's also much easier to take money from a corporation (or their insuror) than it is from an individual because, after all, it's a corporation, not a person.
Now, if the trigger in question is being used in the course of employment (private security, whatever it is that Plan9 does, etc.), then the employee should definitely check with the employer. But if this is a wanna-be hero out on his own, so long as he acting reasonably, there's not much concern.
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"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush
"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo
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