This past month Keurig began recalling more than 7 million single-serving coffee brewers after receiving repeated reports about burns. This involves the MINI Plus Brewing System with model number K10 (made between December 2009 and July 2014 that makes single servings of coffee by pumping hot water through small plastic cups of grounds) that has a hazard of overheating during brewing which then causes it to spray hot liquid and give a nasty burn injury. The company says the scorching liquid escape is more likely if the brewer is used to brew more than two cups in quick succession.
Consumers are urged to visit Keurig’s website to see if theirs is a model among the recall, and if it is the company will ship a free repair kit that likely includes a brewer handle attachment and a replacement K-Cup holder which prevent hot water from escaping and causing a burn injury to the consumer.
Meanwhile the company says consumers can continue using their brewer and avoid burn injury so long as they do not brew multiple cups “in rapid succession and maintain an arm’s length distance from the brewer during the brewing process.”
Most minor burns will heal on their own, and home treatment is all that is needed to relieve your symptoms; but if you suspect you have a more severe burn injury use first-aid measures while you arrange for a doctor’s evaluation. For a liquid burn injury: run cool tap water over the damaged area for 10 to 20 minutes (do not use ice). Look for other injuries, as the burn injury may not be your only wound. If you are going to see your doctor, cover the burn with a clean, dry cloth—and do not apply salve, medicine, or butter on the burn injury so your doctor can properly assess the damaged skin.
Can I recover money for pain & suffering from a burn injury?
Defective, dangerous products are the cause of thousands of injuries every year in the U.S. “Product liability law” are the legal rules concerning who is responsible for defective, dangerous products that sometimes makes it easier for an injured person to recover damages—such as after suffering a burn injury from a defective coffee brewer. Liability for a product defect–like one that causes burn injury–could rest with any party in the products chain of distribution, such as the product manufacturer, a product assembler, or the retail store that sold the product to the customer.
Product liability legal actions are typically quite complex, and establishing fault usually requires support and testimony from experts. Additionally, every state has its own specific laws and statutes that will affect an action.
It is important to consult an experienced attorney if you or a loved one suffers from an accident caused by a potentially defective product (such as a burn injury from one of Keurig’s malfunctioning brewers). Contact an experienced accident and injury law firm (such as…Kullmann, Klein & Dioneda, perhaps?) to have your own claim evaluated.
Read more on how to proceed after a burn injury.
