But when the seat of her scooter collapsed on December 6, 2009 while she was in the trash room of her apartment building, Sorenson was not able to pull herself up because of her muscle impairment and she died as the result of a defective seat on her scooter. Her daughter, Kirsten Sorenson, and a legal team representing her interests, filed a defective products lawsuit against the company, alleging negligence. The lawsuit also claimed that the company had known that there were significant design flaws with the electric wheelchair but that it chose to put the wheelchair on the market anyway.
Sorenson was found dead in her apartment building in the trash room six hour later. She had apparently become trapped by her scooter when the seat collapsed. Her death was deemed to be the result of “positional asphyxiation.” Her trachea was damaged and she was unable to breathe.
The lawsuit alleged that Medical Depot and Home Medical Equipment negligently designed the scooter and that the problem Sorenson’s mother experienced with the seat of the wheelchair was entirely foreseeable and preventable. The seat of the chair was connected to the seatback with inferior pieces of plastic and those plastic pieces were too weak to support the weight limit that it advertised. Defendants were accused of multiple forms of negligence. In addition to the design and manufacturing, the defendants were also found to be negligent in their failure to do proper testing on the seat, and they did not warn users of the dangers and risks that the seat could present.
According to reports, the defense had actually admitted to being aware of another two cases where similar events had occurred and the seats of the electric wheelchair had cracked.
The case was settled in 2011 but the terms of the settlement have not been disclosed.
When a product causes injury or property damage because the product in in some way defective, consumers who have experienced the harmful effects of these products have the option of taking legal action against the product’s manufacturer. Manufacturers or other parties involved in design, sales, marketing, and distribution of defective products can be held liable when reports of injuries or property damage start surfacing.
As dictated by product liability law, responsibility lies with the companies or individuals when products that they have made available for purchase by consumers causes harm. The law affords injured consumers legal recourse when they have been harmed or suffered property damage as the result of a defective product.
If you or a family member has been injured or has had property damage resulting from a particular product, or if that product was not accurately labeled, contact a Missouri personal injury attorney to discuss your legal options. You may be entitled to compensatory damages for the injuries you have suffered.
