Laundry Detergent Poisoning Lawyers Continue to Review Lawsuits for Children Nationwide
For more than three years, the lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. have been reviewing potential laundry detergent poisoning lawsuits for children and families throughout the U.S., after the popular single-load pods got into the hands of children and were placed in their mouths.
Despite substantial media and regulatory attention on the laundry detergent pod risks, thousands of children continue to suffer severe injuries and a new report provides alarming data that clearly indicates manufacturers still are not doing enough to eliminate these preventable injuries.
In a study published this month in the medical journal Pediatrics, researchers found that children who come into contact with laundry detergent pods are substantially more likely to become severely ill or hospitalized than children who come into contact with detergent in other forms.
Researchers looked at data on child poisonings from 2013 to 2014, and indicate that these increasingly popular devices continue to pose a serious risk years after our laundry detergent poisoning lawyers first posted information about steps that manufacturers should take to protect children and disabled adults from accidentally ingesting the highly concentrated detergent.
According to the alarming findings on the risk of laundry detergent poisoning faced by children throughout the United States:
- 62,254 children were exposed to some form of detergent product from 2013 to 2014;
- 35.4% of exposures involved laundry detergent pods;
- 24.2% of exposures involved dishwasher detergent pods;
- 43.5% of exposures resulted in illness or injury to a child;
- The majority of exposures were through ingestion, where children placed the pods in their mouth;
- The mean age of children exposed to detergent products was 1.7 years old;
- At least 104 children required intubation due to the laundry pod poisoning, compared with only 13 involving all others;.
- 2 children died after laundry pod exposure.
Popular single-load laundry packets like Tide Pods are brightly colored gel packs, which have been sold in containers and packaging that makes them appear similar to candy or a child’s teething toy.
Although reports of severe and sometimes fatal poisonings from laundry detergent pods began to surface shortly after the products were introduced, insufficient steps have been taken to eliminate the risk of children being severely injured. Inadequate warnings are provided for parents about the importance of keeping the packs out of the reach of children, and simple steps like placing each pod in a sealed child-proof bag could have helped thousands of children avoid contact with the highly concentrated detergent.
Laundry Detergent Poisoning Lawsuits
Our lawyers started to investigate laundry detergent poisoning cases in 2012, after the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) first issued a safety alert amid reports of children suffering illnesses and injury.
The American Association of Poison control Centers (AAPCC) reports that there were at least 12,594 cases of laundry pod exposure among children under the age of six in 2015, and there have already been 2,800 cases by the end of March of this year.
Exposure to the contents of laundry packets can result in:
- Severe Vomiting
- Nausea
- Respiratory Disorders
- Drowsiness
- Rashes
- Eye Irritation
- Chemical Burns
It appears that manufacturers are willing to place profits over children’s health and safety through the marketing of these potentially deadly products and have made only token, ineffective, efforts to prevent child poisoning incidents.
Contact our laundry detergent poisoning lawyers to determine whether financial compensation may be available for you, a friend or family member who suffered an injury. Request a free consultation and claim evaluation.
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