Subrogation & Recovery Law Blog : Insurance Subrogation Lawyer & Attorney : Cozen O'Connor Law Firm : Property Damage & Insurance Commentary

On September 1, 2011 the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a voluntary recall of all pourable gel fuels made by nine separate companies. The recall covers an estimated two million units of this fuel, which has been sold since 2008. Customers are being asked to contact the individual companies to obtain a refund for return of the product.

The recall is reportedly based on 65 reported incidents of flash fires. The fuel is designed to be used in outdoor fireplaces or firepits.  Specifically, the pourable gel fuel can ignite unexpectedly and splatter onto people and objects when it is poured into a firepot that is still burning.

If you have a claim involving a flash fire occurring when an individual was using pourable gel fuel, your first instinct may be to chalk it up to user error. However, based on this recall, thought should be given to pursuing a products liability theory.
 

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On January 20, 2011 the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”) announced a voluntary recall of Propane (LP) Gas, manufactured by Aux Sable Liquid Products of Morris, Illinois.  The affected propane was sold in portable cylinders and delivered to storage tanks.  The problem with this estimated 700 rail car units of propane gas is that some of the propane did not have sufficient levels of the odorant that should be added to propane to help alert consumers to a gas leak. Without the proper levels of odorant, a clear hazard is created in that failing to detect leaking gas can present fire, explosion and thermal burn dangers to consumers.

According to the CPSC, the recalled propane was sold to propane retailers in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia from February 25, 2010 through September 30, 2010.  The CPSC has encouraged consumers in the affected states who purchased propane gas during the aforementioned timeframe to contact Aux Sable to arrange for a free inspection and exchange.

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On March 11, 2011, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”) will officially launch a new website which offers a forum for consumers to register complaints about product-related safety issues. The database, located at http://saferproducts.gov/ will register complaints of injury or of potential harm filed by consumers, safety groups, health care professionals and other interested parties; non-safety product quality and performance complaints will not be included. Other information traditionally promulgated by CPSC, such as recall notices, will also be published in the database. It is further indicated that the database will provide automated email alerts to subscribers regarding new complaints and recalls.

Previously, product safety issues were publicly reported by the CPSC only after the body of safety complaints regarding a particular product reached the critical mass necessary for a recall. With the introduction of this database, subrogated insurers will be able to discover reported product deficiencies before they result in a recall or even if no recall ever issues.

Because participation in the complaint registration process is not limited to consumers, insurers affected by product failure should also be able to file complaints. If insurers are active in adding loss-causing product defects to the database, the depth and breadth of aggregated product hazard knowledge will grow exponentially, making the new database a more and more valuable resource over time.
 

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PTAC fires are causing a recent stir in apartment complexes and hotels. What is a PTAC, you ask? PTAC's are Packaged Terminal Air Conditioners/Heat Pumps. They are self contained machines installed through the wall with a sub unit for each room, which can be controlled independently. The units normally have the ability to heat as well as cool.

In December 2009, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled about 30,000 Amana-brand, Comfort-Aire, and Century-brand PTAC units manufactured by Goodman Manufacturing. The recall covers units manufactured from February 2007 to April 2008.

According to the recall, the problem with the units appears to be overheating where the power cord connects to the power supply, causing a burn or fire hazard.  However, due to the relative newness of these fires, the specific problem is still unclear and a case-by-case evaluation should be employed. The power cords are manufactured by Tower Manufacturing, a U.S. Corporation. The circuit boards are manufactured by Everex Communications, also U.S. based. 

Goodman has also implemented a voluntary corrective action program (“CAP”) in which they provide new replacement power cords for the recalled units. However, it has been reported that these replacement cords have also been subject to failures/fires. With 30,000 units subject to the recall, and the potential of the corrective action program being unsuccessful, there will likely be more subrogation opportunities with fires involving PTACs.  

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