A tragic accident that occurred in February 2010 has led to a lawsuit against Whirlpool and other parties after a 2-year-old girl died ultimately as the result of scalding hot water.
While we think to power tools, equipment, toys, cars and other items having defects, we rarely think about the safety of products we use every day in our lives. One father in Hinckley, IL is now suing Whirlpool, his landlord and a local hospital and physician in the death of his 2-year-old daughter Mikayla.
Bryant King was bathing Mikayla at his rented home in Hinckley in February of 2010 when the water reached temperatures of 138 degrees. Typically, most water heaters are set to 120 degrees as recommended by the U.S. Product Safety Commission. Exposing a child of 2 years of age to water that is almost 140 degrees can result in third degree burns in less than three seconds.
Tragically, when King took Mikayla to Mercy Medical Center, the doctor attending to Mikayla inserted a tube to administer oxygen. The tube was designed for use in adults, and ultimately its length punctured Mikayla’s stomach. The 2-year-old was then transferred to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, IL where she succumbed to her injuries on April 18th.
King filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Whirlpool, claiming product liability and negligent design. According to the claim, Whirlpool failed to assess the risks of water heaters that are potentially defective and to warn consumers of those risks. The landlord of the property where King lived, David Smith, was also sued for negligence. According to the complaint against Smith, he did not inform the Kings of the defect prior to the family moving in the home, and did not repair it.
Dr. Marc Crescenzo and Provena Hospitals face charges of medical malpractice.
It is truly a tragedy when a 2-year-old loses his/her life due to defective products and negligence. In this case it seems that nearly every party plays a role in the little girl’s death, from the makers of the faulty water heater and the landlord to the doctor who punctured Mikayla’s stomach. Hopefully lessons will be learned from this unfortunate story.
Brown Chiari is a team of New York defective product lawyers dedicated to fighting for the rights of our clients. If you or a loved one has been injured because of a defective or faulty product or product that was improperly labeled, call us for a free evaluation of your case.