Keurig Coffee Maker Product Liability Lawyer

Burned by Keurig? You’re Not the Only One

by Product Liability

Keurig Coffee Maker Product Liability Lawyer
As many of us have learned from stepping on a child’s seemingly innocent Lego—sometimes, it’s life’s most wonderful pleasures that bring the most agonizing pain.

 

Sadly, hundreds of individuals were brought to this conclusion yet again after being burned by their Keurig machines while waiting for their coffee to brew. As NBC recently reported, Keurig is currently recalling almost 7 million coffee makers that were produced between 2009 and 2014. The company stated that it had received about 200 reports from users stating that scalding hot water inexplicably sprayed from their machines. Ninety of these incidents resulted in burn-related injuries.

 

Product Defects

 

This is a huge recall for Keurig, the coffee brewing company that has become a household name for many Americans. But large-scale recalls like this are far from unheard of, even for major corporations.

 

In 1982, Tylenol recalled approximately 31 million bottles after 13 people died after taking the iconic pills (an event that eerily predicts our current problem with prescription drug defects). In 2007, 1 million Easy Bake Ovens were recalled after Hasbro received several complaints about young children being burned on the toy. And just last year, car manufacturer GM recalled approximately 26 million cars with faulty ignition switches that had led to 31 auto accidents.

 

Is any company—or product—safe from recalls? Unfortunately, probably not. There are simply too many things that can go wrong in the assembly process that can result in products being defective in any number of ways.

 

Boca Raton Product Recall Attorney

Product recalls are generally a result of one of three types of defects:

 

  1. Design flaws. Design flaws are generally those that permeate all products in a certain line, because the problem is inherent in the very blueprint of the product. Design flaws are present in products even if they were manufactured perfectly.
  2. Manufacturing flaws. Manufacturing flaws are those that occur as a result of a manufacturing error – a mistake made during the physical process of building the product. These defects are usually only present in one type of product—that is, one particular product that had to undergo a specialized manufacturing process—and do not apply to an entire product line.
  3. Failure to provide adequate warning. This is the most easily avoidable type of defect. So-called “failure to warn” defects are those that fail to provide adequate notice about the proper way to use a certain product. These defects are particularly dangerous on products that can be seriously damaging to the user if used improperly, such as power tools or large appliances.

 

Because any of the above product defects can result in harm to you or your family, and because manufacturers have a duty to create products that won’t cause harm when being used properly, it is vital that you hold them responsible.

 

What Can You Do?

 

Unfortunately, product defects can sometimes result in serious personal injury. From minor bruises as a result of an improperly assembled chair to severe physical injuries and even death that can occur due to an improperly manufactured brake pedal.

 

Even if you find yourself going up against a large corporation, don’t be afraid to stand firm and defend yourself. Companies have a responsibility to consumers to keep them safe, and if any company fails to do so, you need to fight back both to keep something like this from happening to another person and to get the compensation you need to adequately cover your pain, suffering, and expenses. Contact the law offices of The South Florida Injury Law Firm today and get the justice you deserve.

 

About the Author:

Jeffrey Braxton is a trial lawyer in Fort Lauderdale who has devoted his 22-year career to the practice of personal injury law. As lead trial attorney for The South Florida Injury Law Firm, Jeff has litigated thousands of cases and is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, an exclusive group of attorneys who have resolved cases in excess of one million dollars.

 

5 of the Biggest Toy Recalls in the US

5 of the Biggest Toy Recalls in the US

by Product LiabilityToy Recalls

5 of the Biggest Toy Recalls in the US

As a parent, you have to be careful what kind of toys you buy for your children. Small parts are out if your child is of an age where they want to stick everything in their mouth, and sharp edges are always a bad idea. In general, you need to be sure the toys you buy are age-appropriate for your child, and you probably determine that in part by the toy labels that tell you exactly what age range each toy is designed for.

 

But what happens when those toys aren’t as age-appropriate or safe as they claim to be? Unfortunately, toy recalls are all too common, and children’s products accounted for 42% of all recalls between 2006 and 2011. Here’s a look at 5 of the biggest toy recalls from the last few years, and what you should do if one of your child’s toys undergoes a similar recall.

 

Mattel Magnetic and Lead-Contaminated Toys. Lead is banned in US toys because of the associated health risks, but in 2007 toy giant Mattel was forced to recall 436,000 toys depicting characters from the movie “Cars” because the Chinese-manufactured products were covered in lead paint. At the same time, Mattel issued another recall for 18.2 million magnetized toys because they realized that the magnets posed a choking hazard for young children.Mattel vowed to monitor their Chinese contractors and subcontractors more closely in the wake of these huge recalls.

 

Aqua-Leisure Inflatable Baby Boats. As the name suggests, this product was designed to allow infants and toddlers to float in the pool. However, the straps that held the baby’s legs in place had a tendency to tear, allowing the young child to fall through. Although it eventually came to light that Aqua-Leisure knew about the problem since at least 2003, the company did not recall the product until 2009—after there had been at least 30 drowning deaths.

 

Aqua Dots. Aqua Dots were a popular type of arts and crafts bead in 2007, until the Consumer Product Safety Commission discovered that the beads were coated in a chemical that, when swallowed, would metabolize into gamma hydroxy-buturate (better known as the date rape drug). Children who ingested the beads experienced symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, loss of consciousness, and in extreme cases even went into a comatose state, and Aqua Dots’ manufacturer was forced to recall the product.

 

Lawn Darts. As you can probably imagine, a toy with extremely sharp, weighted points that children could throw around the yard was never a good idea, yet lawn darts became a popular product in the 1980s. Lawn darts caused the death of at least 3 children, and they were actually banned in the US once in the ‘80s, but the manufacturer challenged the ban and was able to continue selling the product as long as they were only marketed to adults. A father who lost his daughter in a lawn dart accident eventually convinced the CPSC to ban lawn darts outright and pull them from store shelves.

 

Product Recall - Lawn Darts

Cabbage Patch Snacktime Dolls. Cabbage Patch dolls were all the rage in the ‘80s and ‘90s, but one type of doll that was designed to “eat” small snacks using a motor turned out to be seriously dangerous. The problem was that the motor was triggered not just by snacks, but by children’s hair and fingers, and there was no power switch to stop the doll from causing injury. Mattel announced a voluntary recall on the dolls in 1997.

 

Make Sure Your Child Isn’t Playing with Recalled Toys

 

Make Sure Your Child Isn’t Playing with Recalled Toys

Wondering if any of your child’s seemingly innocuous toys pose a potential danger? Unfortunately, product recalls aren’t always as widely promoted as they should be, so you may have to be proactive to determine if any of your child’s toys have been recalled. You can search for the product by checking the Consumer Product Safety Commission website or by using the Toy Recall Finder on Parents.com. If you discover that a toy has been recalled, get rid of it or return it to the company as soon as possible.

 

If your child is injured by a product that has either been recalled or should be recalled, seek medical attention and contact a personal injury attorney. Although it can be hard to think about taking legal action after your child has been harmed, filing a lawsuit against a negligent manufacturer may be the most effective way to ensure that your family receives compensation—and that the product is pulled from shelves before it can harm anyone else.