Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and Kmart have settled three products liability lawsuits over patio furniture that the plaintiffs said either injured or amputated their fingers. The terms of the defective furniture settlements are confidential.
However, all three complaints claimed that the legs of the lounge chairs act like “a guillotine” for hands and fingers that may get stuck between the chair and its legs. They contend that the legs are defective and are prone to snapping forward. The plaintiffs include a 67-year-old woman, who lost two fingers, a 22-year-old college student, whose right ring finger was amputated, and a girl, then age 4, whose left pinky fingertip was snipped off.
Just last week, phil&teds USA Inc. and the Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled 54,000 “metoo” Clip-on Chairs over concerns that these child seats pose a fall and an amputation hazard. Of the numerous reports of injuries, two of them involved the amputation, laceration, pinching, or crushing of kids’ fingers. The risk of serious head injuries during fall accidents was also a concern. It was just this May that the CPSC issued an alert warning consumers to stop using the chairs because they were dangerous.
Last month, approximately 20,000 Task Force 5-ton electric log splitters were recalled by the the CPSC and Changzhou Globe Tool Group Co. Ltd. because the product poses amputation and laceration risks to consumers that place hands on the splitter’s handle while its in operation. At least two people have suffered finger injuries, including an 18-year-old whose fingertip was amputated.
Of course, who could forget the recall of about 1 million Maclaren double and single umbrella strollers following reports of of a number of kids sustaining amputation injuries in 2009. For a product made for children to be unsafe enough that the boy/girl risks finger amputation is unacceptable. In early 2010, Graco also recalled 1.5 million strollers following fingertip amputations and lacerations to kids.
Fingertip Amputation
Fingertip amputations are incredibly painful and they can cause disfigurement and disability. Hopefully, the fingertip can be reattached or repaired, but this can also be a very painful procedure. A person who uses his/hands hands for employment purposes may not be able to work for a while, which can lead to additional financial losses.
You want to work with experienced products liability lawyers that know how to help the victims of defective or dangerous products obtain damages from the manufacturer, seller, and/or distributor responsible for a faulty product that caused personal injury or wrongful death. There is no acceptable reason for why you or your child should get hurt because of a defective product. Even if the manufacturer wasn’t negligent, you may still be able to recover damages for injuries or a death caused by a product.
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