The daughters of 81-year-old Evelyn Rogoff and her 83-year-old husband Murray are suing bathrobe maker Blair Corp. for California wrongful death. The Rogoffs sustained fatal burn injuries when Evelyn's bathrobe sleeve caught fire on their stove's electric burner last February.
The fabric quickly caught fire, engulfing Evelyn and Murray who rushed to help his wife. The two of them died months later from their burn injuries. If they hadn't died so tragically, the couple would have been married 50 years.
The Rogoffs' daughters are seeking at least $1.9 million in damages from Blair Corp., which recently has come under fire for its highly flammable bathrobes, which is a product defect.
Evelyn and Murray are not the only ones who have suffered burn injuries because of the Blair bathrobes. At least nine burn-related fatalities have been linked to the Blair robes.
In April, 162,000 Blair Full-length women's chenille robes were recalled. The Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled 138,000 more women's apparel products last month.
In Connecticut, Sharon Davis is suing Blair for $30 million for her mother's wrongful death. Atwilda Brown's robe caught fire in 2005 while she was making tea. She was able to call 911 but did not survive her injuries. Police and fire workers who arrived at the accident scene said they hadn't seen material burn so fast before.
While the robes had previously passed flammability tests, testing since then have proven the robes to be a fire hazard.
At least five of the victims were women whose robes caught fire while they were cooking. The majority of the victims were elderly persons. Three of them were in their 80's.
Defective Clothing
While all clothing can catch fire, garments must meet certain standards under the Flammable Fabrics Act. Failure to comply with these standards can create a highly flammable product that can prove fatal for the wearer and those around. It can also be grounds for an Orange County, California products liability or wrongful death lawsuit.
Bathrobe company sued in deaths of elderly Oceanside couple, Sign on San Diego, October 28, 2009
Woman Blames Robe For Mother's Death, WFSB, October 27, 2009
Blair LLC Expands Recall of Highly Flammable Robes, Consumer Affairs, October 30, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Flammable Fabrics Act
