Defective Home and Outdoor Products Can Lead to Serious Summertime Injury

It’s the height of summer, and most people are focused on cooking out, camping, gardening or just relaxing.

Unfortunately, our product liability attorneys know that there are products involving almost all of these activities that have recently been recalled for the risk of serious injury posed to consumers.

Our hope is that people will read the recall warnings and seek a refund or whatever remedy is offered before anyone is hurt. However, in cases where someone does suffer injury, compensation may be an option. This is true regardless of whether the manufacturer issued a safety recall.

One of the most recent products to come under fire – literally – is the Cedar Lake Heater/Cooker, manufactured by Texsport. Several hundred of these portable, dual-use cookers, often used by campers or for outdoor cooking, were sold at Army/Navy and sporting goods stores. The problem, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, is that the regulator on the device malfunctions if the user switches from heating to cooking, or vice versa. The gas propane will turn to liquid, which in turns leads to a serious fire hazard.

How about relaxing on the front porch with a glass of iced tea? Sure, if you aren’t using a Teavana Glass Tea Tumbler. About 500,000 of these have been sold in the U.S., all with varying designs. The problem is there have been more than 300 reports of the glass breaking or shattering unexpectedly. A number of those incidents resulted in lacerations to the fingers and legs, plus burns (the latter when users had been sipping hot tea from the mugs).

Thinking of getting some lawn work done? Just make sure you aren’t using a Kubota Riding Mower. The USPSC said about 8,600 have been sold and warn that there have been nearly 60 reports of mowers’ fuel tanks leaking, which poses a potential fire risk.

Similar problems have been reported with the Toro Z Master Riding Mower, where the idler pulley reportedly rubs up against the mower’s fuel tank, creating the risk of a fire. So far, six incidents have been reported, however without injuries. Some 3,600 of these have been sold in the U.S., but another 2,600 were recalled last November for the same reason.

Kids playing in the back yard with remote-controlled toys? Check to make sure it’s not a Fast Lane FA-005 Radio Control helicopter, sold at Toys-R-Us. The company has sold about 7,000 of these in the U.S., both online and in stores, since September 2012. The toys cost about $100, but the problem is the rechargeable battery inside. It’s reportedly prone to overheating, which poses fire and burn hazards both to users and nearby objects. Eleven incidents have so far been reported.

And finally, even relaxing on a hammock might have you on edge, if the one on which you happen to be lounging is the Outdoor Solutions Hammock and Sunshade, manufactured in China and sold at H-E-B stores. The supplier has since learned that the seam in the lounge of the hammock has the potential to open and rip, which poses a fall hazard.Consumers can return the product for a full refund.

To learn more about recalled products, visit the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s list of recalls at www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls.