Florida Injury Attorney Blog

A Palm Beach Shores couple has filed a Florida products liability lawsuit over burn injuries that they sustained because the Pourable NAPAfire and FIREGEL Gel Fuel they used in their firepots erupted into flames. On June 3 Jacqueline Delgado became engulfed in flames and she had to be admitted to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s ICU. Her husband Renee also sustained burn injuries.

Two weeks after the Palm Beach County burn accident, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that Napa Home & Garden was recalling about 460,000 jugs and bottles of the gel fuel, which is used for firepots and other decorative lighting items. The recall comes following reports of 37 incidents, including 23 burn accidents caused by the gel fuel lighting unexpectedly while being poured into still burning firepots and spraying onto people and their clothing.

Unfortunately, because Napa Home & Garden, which is facing dozens of burn injury lawsuits, has since filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, obtaining Palm Beach Shores personal injury recovery from the distributor is proving challenging. The Delgados, however, have decided to sue Fuel Barons and Losorea Packaging Co., which packaged the product, TJX Companies, which runs the Marshall’s Home Goods store where Jacqueline purchased the firepots, and Manhattan’s Pharmacy where she bought the fuel.

Florida Products Liability
There are three kinds of defects that manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors can be held liable for:

• Design defects
• Manufacturing defects
• Marketing defects

With products liability, the defendant doesn’t have to have acted carelessly to be held liable. If the product is defective—even if the supplier or manufacturer exercised extreme care—he/she can be still be held responsible for Florida personal injury or wrongful death. A person can file a products liability claim on the grounds of negligent, strict liability, or breach of warranty.

Burn Injuries
Burn injuries can be extremely painful and disfiguring and very costly to treat. In addition to emergency room care, the victim may have to undergo multiple surgeries, spend time in a burn unit, undergo skin grafts, and cope with other painful procedures. Going to work, earning income, and living a normal life may prove impossible. This can take a toll on the burn victim and those that rely on him/her for financial support, companionship, and emotional support.

Burn injuries from defective products don’t even have to be fire-related. For example, certain dangerous household chemical products can cause burn injuries. Water heaters that make the water too hot can cause scald burns. Malfunctioning electrical products can cause electrical burns. There is no reason why you should have to take on the entire financial burden resulting from getting seriously hurt in an accident that wasn’t your fault.

Palm Beach County couple files lawsuit after burning incident, Sun-Sentinel/Palm Beach Post, August 3, 2011

Napa Home and Garden files Chapter 11, Garden Center Magazine, July 11, 2011

Napa Home & Garden Recalls NAPAfire and FIREGEL Pourable Gel Fuel Due to Fire and Burn Hazards, CPSC, June 22, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Palm Beach Injury Lawsuit Sues Shell Oil and Circle K for Man’s Burn Injuries from Gas Station Fire, Florida Injury Attorney Blog, July 20, 2010

Florida Mother Who Pulled Children from Burning School Bus Files Truck Accident Lawsuit, Florida Injury Attorney Blog, November 10, 2008

Family Files Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Wrongful Death Lawsuits After 4-Year-Old Boy and 62-Year-Old Grandmother are Killed in Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber Fire, Florida Injury Attorney Blog, July 7, 2009

A Florida Atlantic University student who sustained burn injuries on more than 50% of his body after he was involved in a Lake Worth car accident last May died today at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. Frantzdy Cherisma was 26.

The college student’s car burst into flames on Interstate 95 on May 18 after his 1997 Nissan sedan was struck by another vehicle while it was stopped in the center lane. According to investigators, Cherisma’s vehicle became disabled when after it ran over the rear bumper of a tractor-trailer that had fallen onto the road. The driver of the vehicle that struck Cherisma’s auto, 39-year-old West Palm Beach resident Kevin C. Dillard, has said that there was another car blocking his view and that this prevented him from seeing Cherisma’s auto until it was too late. Investigators have since found that Dillard was not driving improperly.

Cherisma, who fell unconscious after the Palm Beach County car accident, was reported missing by his family. They eventually found him at the Miami hospital where he was listed under his father’s name.

Road Debris
Road debris can cause serious Miami car accidents, which is why it is so important that the parties responsible for the fallen debris clean it up before anyone can get hurt. Cargo from vehicles, auto parts that have come off a truck or another motor vehicle, garbage from waste haulers, and materials left on the road after a highway construction can lead to flat tires, smashed windshields, and cars colliding with one another in an attempt to avoid the debris, regain control of their vehicle, or avoid striking the other autos on the road.

AAA Exchange says that more than 25,000 North American car accidents a year are a result of vehicles colliding with road debris. 80 to 90 people are killed as a result.

FAU accounting student dies two months after fiery Lake Worth crash, Palm Beach Post, July 20, 2010

Missing FAU student found unconscious at Miami hospital, Sun-Sentinel, May 27, 2010

Road Debris, AAA Exchange

Related Web Resources:
Florida Department of Transportation

The International Society for Burn Injuries

Continue reading "College Student Who Sustained Severe Burn Injuries from Palm Beach County Car Accident Has Died " »

A deputy sheriff with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office is suing several companies for Florida personal injury. Richard Ragali sustained burn injuries on over 60% of his body while at a Marathon gas station last month.

The 53-year-old Jupiter resident’s body caught fire on October 2 as he pulled his motorcycle into the gas station. The motorcycle slid on a gas puddle, causing sparks to fly and flames to ignite.

Ragali sustained second- and third- degree burns and is undergoing physical therapy and getting skin grafts in the burn unit of a Miami hospital. His Palm Beach injury lawyer says his feet and face are the only parts of his body that weren’t burned.

The defendants named in Ragali’s Palm Beach County, Florida premises liability lawsuit are Circle K Corp, Circle K Stores Inc., Circle K store No. 2386, Shell Oil Products Co, Shell Oil Corp, and Motica Enterprises LLC.

Ragali’s Florida injury complaint contends that the defendants knew there were hazardous gas remnants on the property and they should have exercised reasonable care when inspecting, supplying, repairing, and maintaining the gas station and gas pumps. He is seeking damages for pain and suffering, disfigurement, permanent disability, bodily injury, loss of the capacity to earn money, loss of the capacity to enjoy life, medical bills, and nursing expenses.

Gas Station Accidents:
Gasoline companies and gas station owners are aware of how dangerous a gas station can be for patrons in the event of a gas leak occur or a fire. While customer carelessness can cause gas station fires, the premise owner and other responsible parties must make sure patrons are warned of possible hazards. Also, any necessary maintenance work and repairs to prevent injury accidents must be conducted.

Some 4.5 million burn deaths caused by gasoline fires happen each year. Another 10,000 fatalities are from infections sustained by the burn wounds.

Burn injuries are extremely painful and can lead to permanent disfigurement and scarring. Recovery, when possible, can take months.

Deputy sheriff sues over burns suffered in Keys, Keys.net, November 14, 2009

Gasoline Safety, Mass.gov

Related Web Resources:
Service Station Safety, National Fire Protection Association

International Society for Burn Injuries