Over the last decade, Wal-Mart has settled numerous burn injury lawsuits involving Blitz gas can accidents, when the gas canisters allegedly catch fire, explode and cause serious burn injury. Consumers across the nation have allegedly suffered injuries in portable gas can explosions, according to product liability attorneys and injured consumers.

Wal-Mart is the largest seller of plastic gas cans, and over the years has sold millions of portable Blitz gas cans. After agreeing to settle personal injury and product liability cases following Blitz gas can accidents, the company has still not acknowledged any safety defect in the portable gasoline cans.

Blitz was the nation’s largest manufacturer of plastic gas cans, but is now bankrupt. Even so, injured consumers can still seek legal assistance following burn injury and gas can accidents. Wal-Mart has been named a defendant in many of the Blitz gas can injury lawsuits.

Joe Lyon is an experienced product liability attorney and burn accident representing plaintiffs nationwide following Blitz gas can accidents.

Defective Gas Can Explosions

Blitz gas can lawsuits allege that Blitz and Wal-Mart knowingly sold a defective product, capable of exploding without proper warning and safety devices, known as flame arresters.

Flame arresters could make a gas can safer for consumers, but would have cost more for the company. According to some in the industry, a flame arrester can reduce the likelihood of an explosion by absorbing and dispersing heat within the canister.

Blitz and other manufacturer s have argued that burn injuries and gas can accidents are all simply the fault of the consumer and assumes no responsibility. But Blitz and Walmart have been sued repeatedly due to improper warning labels and a lack of safety devices.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has encouraged manufacturers to produce gas cans with flame arresters. Flame arresters, in many case, could keep external flames outside gasoline containers from passing into the container.

A flame arrester is a piece of mesh or a disk with small holes punctured it. They are regularly uses on safety gas cans, bottles of lighter fluid, and in fuel storage systems.

Blitz Gas Can Accidents 

Portable red gas cans can explode when exposed to heat and flames. This may not come as a shock to most consumers, though accidents can sneak up when a small amount of gasoline is left in the canister and there is a build-up of gas vapor in the canister. When gas vapor comes into contact with a spark, it may causes the vapor to ignite, leading to a flashback and the gas can may explode.

The lack of clear, readable warnings on the Blitz gas cans has been a point of contention for product liability lawyers and the defendants. There is also a lack of child-resistant caps on the cans.

According to lawsuits, Wal-Mart failed to conduct safety testing after the burn injury reports from consumers, saying the responsibility to test the product they sell is on the producers. But they continued to sell the products, knowing they were dangerous. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has records of at least 11 deaths and 1,200 emergency room visits involving gas can explosions since 1998.

Many consumer products on the market present burn injury hazards for adults and children. Cheap and defective, and poorly designed products may pose fire and burn risks. The manufacturers of consumer products have a duty to foresee potential injury and properly test products before they are released to the public.

Companies must also properly warn consumers of any risks associated with their products. Any failure to protect consumers that results in accidents and burn injury can lead to lawsuits filed by plaintiffs and their product liability lawyer

Following a burn injury or an explosion accident, The Lyon Firm aggressively, professionally, and passionately advocates for injured individuals and families to obtain just compensation under the law.

DEFECTIVE PROPANE WALL HEATER

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