Flammable Fabrics News & Issues » US Consumer Product Safety Commision (CPSC)

Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Against Blair Corporation For Robe Fire

RBlawyers — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 22:41:02 +0000

On October, 23, 2009, the law firm of Raymond & Bennett filed a wrongful death lawsuit (Complaint) in federal district court against Blair Corp. and Blair LLC on behalf of Sharon Davis, the daughter of Atwilda (Tilly) Brown of Connecticut. Sharon’s mother, Atwilda Brown, died nearly four years ago when she was burned to death wearing a defective Blair chenille robe. She had just finished making a cup of tea when her robe momentarily made contact with her stove and suddenly an uncontrollable fire erupted.

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).

Lawsuits Filed Against Blair In Connecticut, California, Illinois and Alabama

RBlawyers — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:45:32 +0000

Lawsuits have now been filed against Blair Corporation for defective, recalled chenille clothing in four states including Connecticut, California, Illinois and Alabama. The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission has described the robes as a “deadly danger to women”.

Blair Expands Recall On All Chenille Apparel – More Reported Deaths

RBlawyers — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:26:45 +0000

On October 22, 2009, Blair and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) expanded the previous recall of full length chenille robes to include additional chenille robes and three other chenille products. The recall is based on the serious risks of burn injuries from the clothing catching on fire. Additionally, some of the clothing fails to meet federal flammability standards. The products include chenille robes, chenille jackets, chenille lounge jackets and chenille tops.