PI Case Example Product Liability Injury
Successful Product Liability Case Result
AC v. Oriental Trading Company, BC307719
AC hosted a Polynesian themed party for a friend. She purchased various items online from the Oriental Trading Company. One of the products was a hula skirt. The skirt was made of long shreds of paper and looked like the type of garment worn at a luau. It tied around the waist with a plastic waistband.
Candles had been lit for the party. Some candles were on the ground. AC stood near a candle. Unfortunately, the hula skirt was so flammable, that when it touched the candle AC immediately became immersed in flames. She suffered severe burns.
Investigation revealed that although the skirt was designed to be fire retardant, the Chinese manufacturer failed to add the fire retardant to the manufacture process. The batch of hula skirts that AC purchased had no fire retardant whatsoever.
Although the manufacturer was in China and the Oriental Trading Company is an out-of-state corporation, the Law Offices of Mann & Elias sued them in California for product liability. By the time of trial, the Oriental Trading Company had no choice but to admit fault. However, they refused to offer an amount of money that would compensate AC for her serious burn injuries. With the help of trial counsel Gary Dordick, we obtained a verdict of $3,740,000 for AC.