Slow Cookers Recalled Due to Fire Hazard
This recall is the latest in a series of recalls linked to defective products yanked off the market because of fire and burn hazards. The CPSC has announced a recall of more than 7,000 slow cookers sold by Burlington Coat Factory of New Jersey. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the cooker’s control panel can overheat and melt. This can cause a potential fire hazard. Approximately 7,460 slow cookers are included in this recall. The cookers were manufactured in China.
Burlington Coat Factory has received several reports of smoking and burns involving these cookers. The company has received 60 reports of control panels smoking, melting and sparking. Burlington Coat Factory has also received three reports of panels catching fire. 14 of these incidents caused minor damage to the countertops. However, none of these incidents resulted in injuries.
The slow cookers included in the recall are the Bella Kitchen 5 Quart programmable slow cookers. These cookers were black in color, and had Bella Kitchen printed on the control panel. This recall only includes those cookers that come with model number WJ-5000DE and date codes 0907 or 0909. The cookers were sold at Burlington Coat Factory stores between June 2010 and December 2010. The company is advising consumers to stop using the slow cooker immediately, unplug it and return it to the Burlington Coat Factory.
Defective products contribute to many of the hundreds of thousands of burn injuries that occur in the US every year. Every year, hundreds of products including stoves, ovens, toasters, irons, hair dryers, coffee makers, and cooking ranges are recalled for a variety of burn hazards.
It’s not just electronic appliances that are linked to burn hazards because of malfunctioning wiring and other reasons. Anything that is inflammable could hide a potential burn hazard. For instance, in 2009, California product liability attorneys came upon several cases of women injured when the bathrobes they were wearing, literally went up in flames. The bathrobes had been marketed by Blair Corporation of Pennsylvania. The bathrobes were made of chenille, and were manufactured in Pakistan.
Blair Corporation later admitted to having sold at least 162,000 bathrobes that did not meet legal standards for flammability laid out in the Federal Flammable Fabrics Act. Most of the fire incidents involving the bathrobes occurred when the victim was near a stove or some other heat source. The Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled the bathrobes. This recall was initiated in April 2009, and was expanded in October that year.
A burn injury that results from a defective product can be extremely serious. We don’t expect the products that we use in the safety of our homes, to cause harm. Unfortunately, every year people are injured or burnt from using the most mundane of household products.
The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated to the representation of personal injury victims. Please visit our website at
trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on an injury from a dangerous product, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.
