People tend to assume that products like mobility scooters, which are marketed primarily to the elderly, infirm, and disabled, must meet rigorous safety standards to be suitable for their intended market. Right? Wrong. Mobility scooters as yet must meet no mandatory safety standards. There are some voluntary standards that their manufacturers can choose to meet. Our Galveston, TX product defect attorneys note that with mobility scooter manufacturers, as with folks out in the real world, not everyone volunteers.
Carolyn Sorenson suffered from a disease that from birth left her unable to walk. But with the help of devices like mobility scooters, she could live a productive life on her own. In January 2009, she died from positional asphyxiation after the molded plastic seat of her Daytona GT3 Electric Scooter collapsed. The seat collapse caused her upper torso to be wedged behind her against a doorframe, while her lower half remained belted into the remains of the broken scooter seat.
After initial certification of their products, manufacturers sometimes change the design or materials mix. For instance, with the Daytona GT3, which the manufacturer claimed had a pure polypropylene seat, the manufacturer had actually changed over time to a mixture of polypropylene and weaker, recycled plastic. These seemingly slight changes can lead to fatal injuries, as in Ms. Sorenson’s case.
Recycled plastic can contain tiny impurities and occlusions that change the way a molded product reacts to stresses. The plastic is more brittle, and tends to fracture under stress, as Ms. Sorenson’s did.
The lawyer retained by Ms. Sorenson’s daughter in the case tested exemplar seats of the Daytona GT3 and found that indeed they contained a mixture using recycled plastic. The seats containing the recycled materials did not address the needs of the real world stresses that they were likely to encounter, such as rearward loading with handicapped users.
That lawyer has issued calls to the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) and the Veterans’ Administration to begin random spot checks on powered mobility devices intended for disabled customers. If the devices do not meet the minimum voluntary safety standards, he wants the organizations to warn the public.
Carolyn Sorenson’s case shows that if you or a loved one suffers from an injury caused by a defective product accident, you do have recourse. An experienced and knowledgeable Galveston, TX product defect attorney could help you recover just financial compensation for your losses from the accident. Call us today for your free consultation if you’re suffering because of a product defect accident.