A couple weeks ago your South Carolina workers’ compensation lawyers published a blog post concerning a growing threat to consumers that has severely injured a number of people across the Nation, as well as right here in the Charleston area. That threat is popular decorative ceramic firepots filled with dangerous pourable gel fuel. In last Thursday’s Post and Courier, there was a report saying that these gel fuels have been recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
The reason behind the recall is that these flammable gels can ignite unexpectedly and splatter onto consumers and other objects nearby when it is poured into an already lit firepot, or as mentioned in the earlier post, when lighting the fuel.
The dangerous defective product is manufactured by Napa Home and Garden Inc. of Georgia. So far, the company has received 37 reports regarding the fuel, 23 of these reports outlined serious burn injuries to consumers. Lawsuits have already begun to be filed by burned consumers, including one from a West Ashley women who suffered serious burns from a Napa Home product. Also included in these suits are the stores where the firepots were sold.
According to the CPSC, the product being recalled is the pourable NAPAfire and FIREGEL Gel Fuel bottles and jugs. The product itself is a clear gel, packaged in a clear containers sized at 1-quart plastic bottles and 1-gallon plastic jugs. It comes in either non-scented or citronella scents and was sold at retailers between December 2009 and June 2011. The gels have been sold at many popular retailers like Bed Bath & Beyond, Shopko, and Restoration Hardware, and other specialty and gift shops, furniture stores and home and garden stores nationwide, as well as through internet megastore Amazon.com, home and garden catalogs, and by home decorators and landscape architects.
If you have purchased one of these products, you should immediately stop use of the product and return the bottles, or jugs, to the retailer where you purchased the product for a full refund.
This next incident is not so much of an update, but rather a report of an incident that happened in South Carolina, an incident that is very similar to ones discussed in prior posts and have occurred in other states. Last Monday (June 20) morning a 1994 pickup truck was struck by an Amtrak passenger train in Cheraw, South Carolina. There were two occupants inside the truck at the time of the collision and both died of the serious injuries suffered from the crash. The occupants were two men, ages 52- and 56-years-old. According to the South Carolina Highway Patrol, the intersection where the fatal accident occurred has a stop sign, but does not have crossing guards, which seems to only heighten the chances for a fatal railroad accident.
Railroad safety advocates say, despite the risk of serious injury and death, it is not uncommon for people to underestimate the threat of oncoming trains, and that is why some people attempt to cut in front of trains. But, due to the size of trains it is difficult to accurately judge of how fast a train is coming, and that underestimation can cause a fatal motor vehicle accident.
To read the original articles please see the “More Blog Posts” links directly below.
