Parents love laundry detergent pods for their convenience. Unfortunately, kids love them, too, because they are brightly colored and wrapped like candy. More and more children are poisoned by laundry pods every day.
If your child is injured by ingesting a laundry pod or laundry detergent, can you sue? And if so, whom?
Pod Danger
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began issuing warnings regarding laundry detergent pods in 2012. And while pod manufacturers have made changes to the packaging of the pods, there were some 32,000 calls to poison help lines last year for children ingesting laundry pods.
Nearly all of those calls were for children under the age of 6, although the greatest risk is to 1 to 2-year-olds, to whom the pods may look like candy. Children who ingest detergent from the pods can have difficulty breathing, severe eye irritation and burns, vomiting, and loss of consciousness or vision. Parents should monitor their toddlers closely and seek immediate medical attention if their child has ingested a laundry pod.
Pod Liability
Under product liability law, manufacturers have a duty to ensure their products are safe and could be held responsible if their product causes injuries. There are three main types of product liability claims:
- Design Defects: The pod’s design is flawed in a way that renders it unreasonably subject to failure, or in this case, unreasonably easy for children to open and consume;
- Manufacturing Defects: The pod is improperly manufactured and departs from the intended design; or
- Warning Defects: The pod lacks adequate instructions or warnings for parents, the omission of which renders the product unsafe.
A laundry pod could be poorly designed, poorly manufactured, or lack proper warnings, all of which could lead to poisonings and injuries. If this happens, the manufacturer could be liable for any injuries or damages.
If your child has been injured or poisoned by a laundry pod, you may want to contact an experienced personal injury attorney soon.
Related Resources:
- Hurt by a product or accident? Get your claim reviewed for free. (Consumer Injury)
- Dangers Behind Laundry Pods Stump Poison-Control Experts (The Wall Street Journal)
- Lawsuit Over Lead in Baby Food Products (FindLaw’s Injured)
- When Is It Too Late to Sue for Injury? (FindLaw’s Injured)
