You Can Be Injured by Defective Household Products

Monday, May 4, 2020

You Can Be Injured by Defective Household Products

Written by Malman Law, reviewed by Steve J. Malman.

It is often said that most car accidents happen just a few minutes from home. The number of minutes or miles varies depending upon who is doing the measuring, but the fact is that most people’s driving is done just a few minutes from home, so the statement is basically true. However, far more people have accidents in their home than outside. Most are not serious and hardly qualify as “accidents” in a medical or legal sense, but people stumble, drop this, accidentally cut themselves while cooking, and have any number of minor accidents that barely draw any notice inside the home, much less as a statistical matter. 

However, many accidents in the home are far more serious – and potentially deadly. Defective household products are involved in many of these accidents. If you have been involved in an accident while using a defective home product, you should consult with a Chicago personal injury attorney.

Defective Household Products Can Be Deadly

The federal government devotes considerable resources to recalling consumer products deemed to have dangerous defects, and reports on those recalls regularly. It also issues periodic reports regarding injuries caused by defective household products. For example, a 2004 report detailing injuries and deaths from household products found that in 2002 there were 55,860 emergency-room treated injuries and an additional 158,460 medically treated injuries that did not require a trip to the hospital but received medical treatment from paramedics, a doctor’s office, or some other source. 

The report estimated that there were 80 deaths in 2002 from defective household products of the types covered in the report. Household appliances included in the statistics included washing machines and washer-dryer combinations; dryers; floor care equipment, including vacuum cleaners, electric brooms, floor buffers, waxers, and rug shampooers; water heaters; automatic garage doors; electric blankets, among others.

A separate federal report found an estimated average of 70 electrocution deaths from household products each year from 2007 through 2009. Another report noted that from 2008 through 2010, there was an annual average of more than 43,000 emergency-room treated injuries as a result of unstable furniture, appliances, and televisions. In addition, there were 293 reported deaths between 2000 and 2010 caused by these items.

Common culprits in defective household product accidents include faulty smoke alarms, kitchen appliances including dishwashers, space heaters, stoves, and refrigerators, power tools, electric blankets, cleaning products with improper labels, hairdryers, curling irons, and lawn care equipment. Injuries from these products, if defective, can include cuts, burns, poisoning, electrocution, serious falls, carbon monoxide poisoning, and even death. When household products don’t perform as intended, the consequences can be grim.

If You Need a Chicago Personal Injury Attorney, Contact the Lawyers of Malman Law

If you have suffered an injury from a defective home appliance, you should talk to a Chicago personal injury attorney to see if you might be entitled to compensation. The lawyers of Malman Law are ready to help. You can reach us at (312) 629-0099 or through our website.