Clothing fires involving adult clothing can be difficult cases. There are federal flammability requirements set forth in 16 C.F.R. § 1610, et seq. and 15 U.S.C. § 1191, et seq..
These cases are expensive and are somewhat of an uphill battle.
Personal Injury Clothing Fires-Case Law
In Bellotte v. Zayre Corp., 531 F.2nd 1100 (1st Cir. 1976), was a case where a child was playing with matches and that was deemed to be an intervening cause.
Simien v. S.S. Kresge Co., 566 F.2d 551 (5th Cir. 1978) was a case where the fabric exceeded minimum standards and therefore there was no jury issue.
In Wilson v. Bradlees of New England, Inc., 250 F.3d, 10, 13 (1st. Cir. 2001), a child’s sweatshirt came in contact with a kitchen stove and caught fire. The court held that common law products liability and failure to warn claims were not preempted by the Flammable Fabrics Act. Also the court held that the manufacturer’s compliance with this statute was relevant but not determinative. The court granted summary judgment on the failure to warn claim. The court held that it was obvious that clothing can catch on fire. The jury was entitled to consider defective design, negligent manufacturer and strict products liability. In spite of that there was a defense verdict.
In Patterson v. Cent. Mills, Inc., 64 F. App’x 457, 463 (6th Cir. 2003), a child’s t-shirt caught on fire when he leaned over an open burner to cook hotdogs. The manufacturer asserted misuse defense. The basis for that was that it could not have foreseen that a child would lean over a lit stove. There was also an assumption of the risk defense. At trial the child admitted that he knew the clothing would burn if exposed to open flames. There was a defense verdict in the case.
Clothing Fires-Risks
In looking at these cases you also need to consider that most consumers, in particular women, are sensitive to the risk of certain types of fabrics as far as flammability.
Call, or contact us for a free consult. Also for more info on clothing fires see the Wikipedia pages. Also see the post on this site dealing with handling fire cases.
