A California-based company and the Consumer Product Safety Commission are announcing a recall of dining tables, because of the risk that the tables could collapse, injuring consumers. As any personal injury attorney who has handled a collapsing table or chair case can attest, the injuries from this type of incident are more significant than they may first appear. For instance, consider the possibility of a small child sitting at a table that collapses. The weight of the table could easily seriously injure or kill the child.
For adults, the risk of a collapsing table relates more to a leg or knee injury. If the heavy wooden table were to collapse on an individual’s knee, then there is a significant potential for a knee replacement surgery. It is good that the company has taken the issue seriously and is recalling the tables. They will very likely avoid a number of product liability claims.
The table, the Dover Dining Table is manufactured in China and imported by West Elm, a division of Williams-Sonoma of San Francisco, California.According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, West Elm is recalling approximately 830 dining tables in the United States.In Canada, 10 tables are being recalled.The recall is linked to a potential defect that could cause the wooden base of the table to collapse.This can cause the glass top to fall, posing serious injury hazards to consumers seated at the table.
The company is aware of at least 14 reports in which the tables collapsed or broke, and in at least one incident, a consumer suffered leg injuries.The dining table consists of a tempered glass top and a brown wooden base.The tables have the words West Elm and SKU: 2188233 printed on the underside of the center beam.The tables were sold at West Elm stores, as well as online stores between July 2011 and October 2011 for about $500.
Consumers who have the dining table should contact West Elm to receive full store credit.They are also advised to contact West Elm toll-free at 855-369-4335 for more details.The Consumer Product Safety Commission is asking consumers who own the tables, and have been injured and experienced any collapse incidents in their own homes, to report these incidents to the agency.
Furniture-related accidents are not as unusual as people may think.People are injured in furniture-related accidents in the home every day.According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, furniture tipover-related injuries are on the rise in spite of the best efforts of the agency to increase awareness about these injury risks.The agency says that approximately 1 child is killed every 2 weeks in a furniture-related accident.Also, tens of thousands of people are injured every year in these accidents.
Between 2000 and 2010, the Consumer Product Safety Commission says that it received reports of 245 furniture-related fatalities.These fatalities involved children below the age of 8.Out of these, approximately 90% involved children below the age of 5.In more than 50% of the fatalities, the child was killed from crushing injuries from the weight of the piece of furniture or appliance that toppled on them.In most cases, the cause of the fatality was a serious injury to the head.Televisions were the most common appliances that were linked to tip over-related accidents.
Apart from televisions, toy chests, dining tables, dressers, bureaus and other solid furniture can also be involved in accidents.Last week, Pottery Barn Kids recalled bed canopies because these were at risk of collapsing, posing injury risks to consumers, especially children.
The Atlanta product liability attorneys at the Katz Personal Injury Lawyers represent persons injured due to the use of defective products in the metro Atlanta region and across Georgia.