On January 23, 2020, PCNA issued a recall for their Spare 10,000 mAh Power Banks. According to the recall (number 20-058), the lithium-ion battery in the power banks can overheat and ignite, resulting in fire and burn hazards. Approximately 5,000 power banks have been affected by the recall.
The affected power banks can be identified by PO number 1813582 – which is printed on the back side of the power bank. The recalled power banks measure roughly 5.5 inches long and 2.5 inches wide. They are white in color and have company logos on them (various logos since they were given out as promotional items). The power banks, used to charge electronic devices, have a 10,000 mAh Grade A lithium-ion battery, LED indicator lights, as well as a flashlight.
The defective power banks were given to consumers for free as promotional items at meetings and other events nationwide between July 2019 and September 2019.
According to the company, there has only been one report of a fire starting because of the fire banks. However, no injuries have been reported.
PCNA is urging consumers who own the defective products to immediately unplug and stop using the power banks. The company is also urging consumers to discard the power banks (by following local disposal laws).
Although the company has received only one incident report, it is possible that there have been many unreported incidents. If you or your family suffered any type of harm associated with the defective power banks recently recalled by PCNA, you should not even consider following the recommendations of the recall; instead, you should seek legal assistance to learn more about the possibility of pursuing a claim against PCNA for the harm that you or your family suffered.
If you are interested in learning more about your right to pursue after being harmed by a defective product, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at our firm at your earliest convenience. At Normandie Law Firm, our lawyers have many years of experience handling all sorts of claims, including defective product claims. Our knowledgeable product liability lawyers are ready to evaluate your claim and provide you with all the information that you need to understand your right to take action against PCNA for the harm that you and your family suffered. For more information, do not hesitate to contact our law firm immediately.
The Severity of the Hazard – Fire and Burn Risks
Fire and burn risks can potentially lead to the most devastating effects. According to the recall, the lithium-ion batteries in the power banks can overheat and ignite. If this occurs, consumers can suffer extensive injuries. Power banks that ignite and start fires could result in extensive property damage; there could be structural damage, smoke and ash damage, as well as damage to priceless personal property. Property damage could be so extensive that entire homes can be burned to ash. In addition to property damage, the defective power banks igniting could also result in physical injuries. Burn injuries are the most common injuries associated with fires. Unsuspecting parties could suddenly find themselves surrounding in flames and suffer burn injuries of different degrees, such as second-degree burns, third-degree burns, fourth-degree burns, etc. In addition to burn injuries, those caught in a fire could suffer respiratory injuries due to the hot fumes and gases from the fire; this could result in internal burns to the respiratory system. The inhalation of smoke and the prolonged depravation of oxygen can also lead to brain damage.
Regardless of the specific way in which you and your family were harmed because of a defective product that ignited, you should explore the possibility of holding the negligent company accountable for their actions and for the harm that you and your family suffered.
What is Product Liability?
Do you have a thorough understanding of product liability? Based on product liability, companies have a duty to ensure that their products are completely safe for their consumers to use. This means that companies must subject their products to tests and inspections – often multiple times – to be able to identify and address any hazards present in the products. When companies either fail to identify, fail to address, or simply ignore the hazards present in their products, they are breaching their duty of care and putting all their consumers at risk of harm. Even a small risk is enough; innocent consumers could suffer harm as a direct result of defective products.
When innocent consumers – who are using products safely and as intended – suffer harm because of a defective product, companies can undeniably be held accountable on the basis of product liability. Unfortunately, many companies simply disregard the safety of their products, and instead are only focused on getting them out to consumers as soon as possible. However, consumers who have been affected by these defective products can take legal action; specifically, they can pursue product liability claims.
You Can Sue and Receive Compensation
If all the elements of product liability are present, you could pursue a product liability claim against the liable company. If your claim reaches a successful outcome, you could also be eligible to recover monetary compensation. What type of compensation could you be eligible to receive? How much compensation could you be eligible to receive? Some questions surrounding the recovery of compensation are best reserved for an experienced attorney since the recovery of compensation is a matter that is strictly dependent on the details surrounding specific claims.
Although every claim is different, some of the categories of compensation that could be available for recovery could include the following:
• Medical expenses
• Lost earnings
• Pain and suffering
• Property damage
• Funeral and burial costs
• Loss of consortium
• Funeral and burial costs
If you would like to learn more about the type and amount of compensation that you could be eligible to recover if your claim reaches a successful outcome, do not hesitate to contact the product liability lawyers at our firm at your earliest convenience. The defective product attorneys at our law firm are ready to evaluate your claim and aggressively fight for your right to recover the compensation that you deserve. Our attorneys are not afraid to take your claim to trial to reach a verdict if a settlement cannot be reached beforehand. When you allow our product liability experts to handle your claim, you can be certain that there will always be someone fighting for your right to recover the compensation that you deserve.
What Should You Do?
After being harmed by a defective product, there are a number of things that you should do to preserve your right to pursue a claim. Even if you are not immediately thinking about taking legal action, you should follow certain steps. All consumers should be familiar with the actions that they should follow after being harmed by a defective product:
• Seek medical attention as quickly as possible
• Photograph all injuries suffered
• Photograph the defective product
• Stop using the defective product
• Keep the defective product as-is in a safe place
• Do not attempt to alter the defective product in any way
• Contact the company to report the incident, the product defect, and the harm suffered
• Do not agree to a free replacement, a free repair, or a refund/voucher
• Do not agree to return the defective product to the company
• Gather all medical records
• Gather all purchase records
• Seek legal assistance as soon as possible
For more information about these steps, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the product liability experts at our firm at your earliest convenience. Our lawyers are ready to evaluate your claim and provide you with all the guidance that you need to take action against the company liable for the harm that you or your family suffered. To learn more about what you should do, do not hesitate to contact our firm today.
You Should File Your Claim Promptly
There is no doubt that you might have grounds to pursue a product liability claim if you were harmed by a defective product. However, you could lose your right to pursue a claim if you take too long to file. Specifically, all claims are subject to a strict deadline, called a statute of limitations. A statute of limitations determines the exact length of time that claimants have to file their claims. If claimants fail to file within the time allowed by the appropriate statute of limitations, claimants will lose their right to sue.
What deadline applies to your claim? In general, product liability claims in the state of California are subject to a two-year statute of limitations, so claimants typically only have two years to file their defective product claims. However, certain exceptions to the statute of limitations could apply (based on the details of your claim) and toll the applicable deadline. If you would like to learn more about the specific length of time that you have to pursue your claim, do not hesitate to contact us our firm for more information.
Contact Our Product Liability Law Firm Today
If you or a member of your family suffered harm because of a defective product, such as the defective PCNA power banks that were recently recalled, you should consider the possibility of filing a claim. Depending on the details surrounding the incident and the harm that you and your family suffered, you might have grounds to file a product liability claim; you might even be eligible to recover monetary compensation. If you would like to learn more about your legal actions and explore the possibility of pursuing a claim, do not hesitate to contact Normandie Law Firm today.
Normandie Law Firm is a personal injury law firm; our lawyers have many years of experience handling all sorts of claims, including product liability claims. At our firm, our experts believe that all companies that negligently make defective products available to consumers should be held accountable. Our lawyers are ready to evaluate your claim and provide you with all the information that you need to take action against the company that negligently contributed to the harm that you suffered. Our lawyers are committed to representing all affected consumers, not only those who can afford legal representation. Because of this, we offer free legal services.
Our free legal services include both free consultations and free second opinions. During our free consultations and free second opinions, our product liability lawyers will be available to answer all your questions and address all your concerns. Our experienced attorneys are ready to evaluate your claim and provide you with all the information that you need to either begin or continue your claim. Would you like to benefit from these free legal services? If so, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at our law firm at your earliest convenience.
Our free legal services are available as part of our Zero-Fee guarantee. Our Zero-Fee guarantee ensures that our claimants never have to worry about paying any upfront legal fees for any of our legal services. Our firm is also strictly based on contingency, meaning that our clients will never be required to pay any legal fees until after reaching a successful claim outcome. That is, if you do not win, you will not have to pay anything.
If you are ready to discuss your claim with the experts at our law firm, do not hesitate to contact us at your earliest convenience.
