After Nine Confirmed Deaths & Last Week’s Expanded Recall By The U.S. Consumer Safety Products Commission Of Blair Corp. Clothing, Thousands Of Women Are Still At Risk

For immediate release: October 27, 2009
For more information: Ron Dresner
ron@dennispr.com 860.523.7500
c 860.305.7728

(Glastonbury, CT) – A wrongful death lawsuit was filed last week in U.S. District Court in Hartford by the law firm of Raymond & Bennett on behalf of the estate of an East Windsor, Connecticut woman who died after the Blair Corporation, Warren County, PA, chenille robe she was wearing accidentally caught fire and quickly burned. On February 12, 2005, Atwilda Brown was in her house making tea when her Blair chenille robe burst into flames causing second and third degree burns. Transported by LifeStar Helicopter to Bridgeport Hospital Burn Center, Brown later died due to her injuries on February 27, 2005.

The case of Davis v. Blair Corp. et al ( case no. 3:09-cv-1702) was assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Robert Chatigny. Sharon Davis, a retired school teacher and Coventry, CT resident, is Brown’s daughter and executrix of her estate. “While this legal action cannot bring my mother back, we want to make sure no other deaths or injuries will ever occur due to Blair’s defective products. Unfortunately, there are over 300,000 more Blair chenille robes, jackets and tops still out there and I’m sure that the majority of these women have no idea about the dangers they face each time they put on a Blair chenille robe or garment,” said Davis. “My mother suffered a horrible death and experienced excruciating pain. I would like to know why it took four long years to finally make an official recall take place and see Blair punished for violating federal product safety laws.”

Through its public statements, Blair Corporation ( www.blair.com) has admitted to selling 162,000 robes made in Pakistan to its customers in the United States, many of which present a risk of serious burns and violate the legal standards for flammability found in the Federal Flammable Fabrics Act. “Atwilda Brown suffered a terrible death directly due to the dangerously defective chenille robe sold by Blair Corporation. Consumers throughout the United States need to become very aware, very quickly about the horrific dangers of these Blair chenille garments,” said Product Liability Attorney and legal representative for Sharon Brown, Bruce Raymond, Raymond & Bennett, Glastonbury, CT ( www.raymond-bennett.com). “To help with this educational effort, our law firm has created a flammable fabrics news Web site to increase awareness about the deadly danger of the Blair chenille garments. By posting updated news, pictures of the garments and related photos and video at www.flammablefabrics.org, we can hopefully prevent further injuries and deaths.”

On October 22, 2009, the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) expanded its initial April 2009 Blair chenille robe recall to include 162,000 women’s chenille tops, jackets and full-length robes, due to continuing reports of the garments catching on fire and causing deaths. Most of the Blair chenille robe fires have occurred while the victim was cooking or near a flame and usually involving elderly women. The CPSC has said that the products fail to meet federal flammability standards. All of the items are made of plush sculpted chenille with a label that states “100% Cotton, RN81700, Made in Pakistan.” All of the recalled items were manufactured in Pakistan and sold in Blair Catalogs, the company’s Web site and Blair stores in Warren and Grove City, Pennsylvania, and Wilmington, Delaware, from July 2000 through April 2007.

Located in Glastonbury, CT, the law firm of Raymond & Bennett, LLC. handles personal injury and business litigation cases for clients in Connecticut, Massachusetts and throughout the United States. Led by Attorneys Bruce Raymond and N. Kane Bennett, Raymond & Bennett aggressively and professionally is focused on providing the best possible results for its clients. Representing individuals, insurance companies and businesses of all sizes, the firm handles cases involved in a variety of practice areas including business disputes and commercial litigation; products liability and toxic tort; personal injury and wrongful death; fraud and misrepresentation; cyber liability and technology disputes; intellectual property disputes; shareholder disputes; breach of contracts and interference; employment claims; and partnership and small business disputes. Raymond & Bennett is located at 90 National Drive, Glastonbury, CT 06033, phone 860.633.0580, info@raymond-bennett.com. For more information about the law firm and the related case, visit www.raymond-bennett.com or www.flammablefabrics.org.

Only during this past year — April 2009 —  did the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Blair recall finally over 162,000 of the defective chenille robes due to potential burn hazards.  It is now known that that the robes were made in Pakistan and failed to meet standards for flammability under the Federal Flammable Fabrics Act.  Nine deaths have been reported in the United States since April 2009 due to these flammable robes.

Atwilda Brown was wearing a Blair chenille robe at her home when it suddenly ignited into an uncontrollable fire.  See here for photograph of a remnants of the burnt robe. The East Windsor, Connecticut Police Department was at the home after the fire and reported that the robe was “still smoldering.” (Police Report).

Blair chose to have its chenille robes made in Pakistan and entrusted foreign laboratories to run the tests mandated by federal law designed to protect the public from flammable clothing likely to create dangerous burn hazards. After Blair customers began suffering burn injuries, the robes were tested properly and it was discovered that the robes violate the federal standards set forth under the Federal Flammability Act and the testing standards mandated under federal regulations.

Raymond & Bennett LLC, a product liability law firm, has sued Blair in federal court for the wrongful death of a Connecticut women who died from injuries she received in her own home while wearing a Blair full length women’s chenille robe. We strongly encourage the public to comply with the recall by following the instructions provided by Blair and the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Raymond & Bennett LLC is accepting cases against Blair from the public and referring attorneys throughout the United States. Our attorneys are licensed in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Georgia, and represent clients in all 50 states through affiliated counsel. Press inquiries are welcome.