by Joe Jeffrey
Dometic Corporation sued for ‘putting lives at risk’ over faulty fridges
A group of leisure vehicle owners have filed a class-action lawsuit against Dometic Corporation, stating that the company sold defective gas absorption refrigerators with cooling systems that can spontaneously ignite in leisure vehicles, putting consumers at risk of deadly fires, explosions, loss of property and loss of the value of their property. according to consumer-rights law firm Hagens Berman.
The lawsuit, filed by consumer-rights law firm, Hagens Berman, states that the defective refrigerators have caused or contributed to at least 3,000 fires since 1997 in the US alone, resulting in more than $100 million (£69.1 million) in property damage and personal injury claims, all of which Dometic tracked through multiple non-public, internal databases. Despite this knowledge, the lawsuit claims Dometic “failed and refused to eliminate the defects and/or provide consumers with adequate warnings.”
The lawsuit states that every gas absorption refrigerator manufactured by Dometic since 1997 shares common technology, common cooling unit design and common defects, including the propensity of the refrigerator’s cooling unit boiler tube to corrode, crack and expel hydrogen gas at high pressure, which can spontaneously combust, or reach other ignition sources, causing a fire.
The 80-page lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco seeks to force Dometic to repair or replace defective refrigerators and compensate consumers for the diminution of value of their RVs and boats as a result of these manufacturer defects.
Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman, said: “As millions of owners prep RVs and boats for summer activities, they’re completely unaware that the vehicles they will soon use to transport family and friends essentially contain a pressurized tank of hydrogen gas that can leak and ignite a fire. While Dometic promised consumers that its refrigerators were safe for use, it chose to overlook reports of fires and failures of its products and never publicly disclosed the true risk of this defect.”
“We don’t think owners should risk their lives on every trip and have to wait for a potentially deadly hydrogen-fueled fire to get a safe refrigerator or receive payback for Dometic’s brazen misconduct,” Berman added.
“It’s an alarming issue, especially when you consider the layout of an RV,” Berman continued. “If a Dometic refrigerator were to suddenly release this pressurised, flammable gas and start a fire, occupants could easily become trapped inside.”
The suit also addresses two recalls issued by Dometic in which it is claimed Dometic “used and manipulated the recall process to conceal the true dangers and safety risks inherent in their Defective Gas Absorption Refrigerators from both federal regulators and consumers,” resulting, the claim says, in many caravan parks and camping grounds across the United States becoming flush with vehicles containing defective gas absorption refrigerators that may spontaneously burst into flames. The company continues to receive new fire claims “at an alarming rate,” the suit also states.
In addition, the suit states that Dometic resorted to “retaining a cadre of regionally based fire investigators, third-party claims administrators, attorneys and various engineering and metallurgical experts” upon each report of a refrigerator fire or explosion deployed “for the express purpose of diverting attention” from the refrigerators as the cause of the fire and to hide the issue from the public.
In a series of statements released by Dometic, the company said: “The company takes this accusation seriously but vehemently denies that the company would consciously have refrained from eliminating defects in the said product.
“Dometic conducts its operations in strongly regulated environment and it is a vital requirement that all products comply with applicable laws and regulations regarding safety. Dometic works proactively with product safety in an open and close cooperation with governmental authorities and strictly follows the applicable legislation and recommendations.
“Dometic’s opinion is that the allegations are without merits and intend to vigorously defend against them.”
