Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
In a statement released late last week, the Consumer Product Safety Commission urged buyers to avoid a specific company’s carbon monoxide detectors and replace it immediately.
Carbon monoxide detectors have the capacity to prevent about 200 deaths of accidental exposure a year, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
With regular episodes of exposure to the lethal gas dominating headlines including the hospitalization of over a dozen Miami condo residents earlier this month, the use of these life-saving detectors has never been more important. However, some companies making these essential devices should be avoided.
The company at the center of the CPSC memo’s controversy is Shenzhen Lidingfeng Tech, a company operating out of Shenzhen, a city in southeastern China. The detectors from this company have a dual purpose and are meant to alert people of smoke or carbon monoxide via a loud alarm and flashing light. The detectors sold by this company are allegedly defective and do not alert consumers as advertised of any of the potential dangers, the CPSC said in its statement. Some of these devices were sold on Amazon, K-mart, Sears, and E-bay ranging from $17 to $30.
If you think you have purchased this detector, check for the model no. JSN-JY-909COM. Anyone who has purchased the devices is urged to dispose of them after removing the batteries and immediately install new detectors. Sellers are advised to discontinue sales. The CPSC says that the company has not responded to a request for a recall.
The defective detectors are also being sold under the following brand names:
- PetUlove
- ORIKLON
- SENCKIT
- Kingebai
- Gaoducash
- LDASEC
- AMS
Defective Product Cases
Leesfield & Partners has handled several landmark cases involving the poisoning of carbon monoxide and has even advocated for the passing of state law in Florida due to the devastating effects the odorless gas has had on clients and families. In addition to representing clients in cases of carbon monoxide exposure, Leesfield & Partners has also represented those injured from a company’s negligent products and is recognized all over the country for its attorney’s work in this practice area. One of the largest product liability verdicts in the United States was secured by Leesfield & Partners attorneys resulting in an almost $20 million award for a client against Honda.
In that case, a 27-year-old man was riding his Honda motorcycle when it spun out of control and caused him severe spinal injuries that left him as a quadriplegic. The issue causing the devastating crash was with the motorcycle’s kickstand.
Other product liability and defective product cases handled by the firm include a $3 million settlement against a gun manufacturer in the death of a minor, an over $10 million confidential settlement involving a wrongful death, and the over $17 million settlement in a case of tip-over furniture that killed a toddler.
When building a product liability case, there are three branches of product defects that attorneys can use. These include design defects, manufacturing defects and marketing defects. The design defects, as the name suggests, refer to a flaw in the design of the product. A manufacturing defect can occur at some point in the process of building the product before it is ever put on shelves or in the hands of a consumer. This can be on the production or assembly line before the product has left the factory. Marketing defects involve improper instructions or insufficient warnings involved with the use of the product.
