Doing laundry might be seen as one of the most common, mundane tasks involved in the upkeep of a home. One might not expect that defective products could cause personal injury while performing this basic household task. Recently, a woman outside the state of Hawaii made just such a claim, alleging that a faulty design in a laundry detergent pod caused a chemical burn to her breast.
The woman who filed the claim is seeking punitive and compensatory damages from the manufacturing company that makes the detergent pods in question. The lawsuit alleges that a faulty design in the product caused her to suffer a serious personal injury which will require plastic surgery in order to be completely healed. It is alleged that the manufacturer should be held liable for failing to properly inspect its product before making it available for sale to the public, thereby putting the personal safety of each consumer at risk.
The injured woman claims that when she attempted to remove a laundry detergent pod from its package, several of the products were stuck together. She says that she had to tug on the pods in order to separate them. One of the pods then burst open and squirted the detergent onto her breast, allegedly causing a severe chemical burn. The woman was wearing a brassiere but no shirt at the time of the injury. Her attorneys maintain that it is the manufacturer’s responsibility to ensure that they are providing a safe product that will not cause injury to consumers when they attempt to use it.
It is quite possible that consumers in Hawaii might purchase and attempt to use a product like the popular laundry detergent pods named in this case. If someone believes that defective products are the cause of an injury, a product liability claim may be an appropriate legal remedy. Such a claim, if successful, might lead to a monetary judgment which could possibly relieve an injured victim of any medical costs or other financial losses incurred due to the injury.
Source: penrecord.com, “Northhampton woman says chemical burn caused by defective detergent pod”, Jim Boyle, Jan.5, 2015