There are engineering firms that specialize in failure analysis, both small and large firms. I've been around a few. Argueably, the most famous in the country today is Exponent Engineering. They have been commentator/consultants on numerous TV shows where high profile engineering disasters were analyzed. Some of the disasters they actually were involved in the analysis.
Bottom line, the importer, Tri-Star, is a little outfit, but probably has a liability insurance policy. Showing them a picture will probably get some attention and an offer for replacement or just to examine the gun. If the injured shooter wants significant compensation, hiring an attorney is the only way I know of. If the attorney is any good, he'll hire the right level of engineering analysts for the case. There are a plethora of engineering retirees that do this stuff for their income. Some of them are pretty good.
