Detergent Pods and Product Liability

Most of us familiar with operating washing machines are also familiar with detergent pods – the small, handy packets of detergent that you drop in the washing machine, thereby eliminating the need for pouring in liquid detergent from bulky containers.

As convenient as these detergent pods are, in recent weeks they’ve been shown to cause serious harm, raising the issue of product liability. Our personal injury lawyers at the Law Offices of Aronberg & Aronberg know that the issue of product liability is one we should all be familiar with. Essentially, when the general public is harmed by products in one way or another, liability can rest with those who design, manufacture, and/or market the products.

According to recent reports, well over 700 children have been hospitalized over the last two years after having confused the often-colorful detergent pods for toys or candy. Comas and seizures, researchers have discovered, were some of the most serious complications affecting the sick children. Over the last two years, poison control centers have received over 17,000 calls from distressed parents, worried about the health of their children following one of the above-mentioned incidents involving the detergent pods. In one case, a child died due to the complications, underscoring the necessity of more care going into the manufacturing of these potentially fatal household products.

So, what can be done to remedy the issue and prevent these terrible injuries for which the negligent designers, manufacturers and/or marketers are liable? First of all, the detergent pods must be redesigned. As noted previously, the detergent pods often show swirls of bright colors, like blue and orange, and such designs can be appealing to young children who don’t know any better. By mistaking the colorful pods for candy, young children are consistently burning their mouths, eyes and throats, not to mention having seizures and going into comas.

In designing, manufacturing and marketing the detergent pods, the companies behind the products must do more to ensure that they are not easily digested by young children. Perhaps, too, they should make an effort as to not design them in a way that makes them look like candy and/or teething toys for kids who don’t know any better. 

Until these changes are put into effect and until the potentially deadly products are pulled from the market, children will continue to fall victim to the careless peddling of harmful detergent pods into the consumer market. When a child becomes ill or, even worse, dies due to the complications associated with ingesting the contents of the detergent pod, that child’s family may very well have a legal claim to make against the company or companies behind the design, manufacturing and/or marketing of the product.

If you feel that your child has been harmed because they mistook detergent pods for toys or candy, or if anyone in your family has been harmed by a product you purchased, please contact our experienced attorneys at the Law Offices of Aronberg & Aronberg to schedule a free consultation. You can reach us by calling 561-266-9191 or by e-mailing daronberg@build.simple.biz. We look forward to assisting you. 

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