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Opening a gift from a loved one and discovering that they got you the thing that you wanted is a fantastic feeling. Unfortunately, that feeling can quickly shift to fear, pain, and anger if you get hurt using the dream gift in question.
Which brings us to Cuisinart.
If you’ve ever had to cook a big holiday meal, you know how useful food processors are. They slice the painstaking time it takes to chop, grate, or dice foods down to an easy minute or two. Not having a food processor sounds like a nightmare to some.
Sadly, that is the precise situation that many Cuisinart buyers found themselves in just days before the holiday season, as the kitchen product company decided to recall eight million food processors. The recall left many people without one before their big meals, leading some people to accuse Cuisinart of “ruining” Christmas and Hanukah celebrations across the country.
What happened?
Reports started coming in weeks ago that pieces of Cuisinart’s food processor blades were breaking off and getting into food. Not surprisingly, these tiny blades pose a big risk for cuts and other injuries. In fact, over 30 people reported that Cuisinart food processors gave them mouth injuries or lacerations, and 69 reports in total were made about the broken blades.
Cuisinart’s defect included a shocking 22 different models of food processors, some produced as early as July 1996. Conair (the manufacturer of the Cuisinart food processors) offered replacement blades at no charge to anyone affected. However, Conair’s phone lines were down and their website crashed for may people who tried to get in contact with the company during the recall.
The company’s Facebook page was flooded with complaints about the blades and the lack of customer service options. Many people also expressed their anger through Twitter. All-in-all, it was a customer service nightmare for the company.
Imagine, for a moment, that Cuisinart had waited until after the holiday season to issue the recall. That instead of 69 reports of broken blades ending up in food, they had hundreds. Thousands. That people were visiting emergency rooms due to injuries suffered from Cuisinart food processors.
Not being able to use your food processor to help with a big meal is frustrating, but suffering a serious injury is a whole lot worse.
Remember Hoverboards? They were the hottest gift last holiday season. Have you seen anyone on a Hoverboard lately, though?
No. Because the Hoverboard ended up being the hottest gift in more than one way. Its defective lithium batteries caused fires throughout the country. Dozens of lawsuits were filed to cover the cost of house fires and injuries to Hoverboard owners.
Consumers who are hurt by broken or defective products may be able to get compensation for their injuries and other damages. Businesses have a responsibility to make sure that the products they sell are safe, and if they fail in this responsibility sometimes filing a product liability lawsuit is your only recourse.
The bottom line: if you are someone you love is hurt by a holiday gift, don’t just assume fault. Document the incident. Hold onto your medical bills and records of any other financial losses caused by the product. These documents may come in handy after a recall, or if you need to file a defective product liability claim.
Learn more about how you can file a claim or lawsuit against a company that produced a defective product by contacting a New York personal injury lawyer.
