Tide Pod Lawsuit Filed Over Chemical Burns from Laundry Detergent
Procter and Gamble faces a new product liability lawsuit brought by a Pennsylvania woman, which alleges that she suffered severe chemical burns from Tide Pods, after one of the prefilled laundry detergent packs ruptured and squirted on her.
The complaint (PDF) was filed by Jennifer Dotel in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on December 19, indicating that Tide Pods are defectively designed and unreasonably dangerous for consumers.
Dotel indicates that she went to use the pods to do her laundry on October 28, 2014, but opened the container to find several had adhered together.
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Single-load Laundry Detergent Pod Poisoning May Result in Serious Injury for Children.
Learn More About this Lawsuit SEE IF YOU QUALIFY FOR COMPENSATION“In the course of separating the pods that were stuck together, one of the pods ruptured and discharged the liquid contents contained therein, in a jet stream, as if fired from a squirt gun,” the lawsuit alleges. “The pods formed together after being put into the container creating the necessity of the consumer to pull apart the fused pods. The Defendant failed to warn that pods fused together should not be pulled apart.”
The Tide Pod lawsuit presents claims against Procter & Gamble for strict liability and breach of warranty, seeking both compensatory damages for medical costs and other damages, as well as punitive damages that are designed to punish the manufacturer for placing consumers at risk.
Tide Pod Safety Concerns
The lawsuit is the latest in a number of reports involving problems with Tide Pods, which have also been linked to thousands of reports involving laundry detergent poisoning among children who mistook the small packs for candy or chew toys.
Proctor & Gamble has faced criticism for marketing the single-load laundry detergent packs in bright colors that resemble infant teething toys, and for selling Tide Pods in packaging that resembles candy.
The American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) has reported that more than 10,000 calls involving laundry pod ingestion problems are received nationwide involving children five and younger exposed to Tide Pods and other similar laundry detergent packs, such as All Mighty Pacs, Purex UltraPacks and others.
In 2012, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued warnings to alert the public about the risk of detergent packet injuries. The safety alert highlighted the poisoning risk the packets pose to children who are exposed to the product, and came after several other regulatory agencies and health experts raised concerns about the risks associated with the single-use detergent packets.
In response to substantial criticism over the brightly colored packaging Tide Pods are sold in, Proctor & Gamble did agree to make several changes to their product packages in 2013.
The manufacturer altered the containers to an opaque material, instead of a clear plastic, to deter children from seeing the brightly colored product and trying to get inside the container.
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16 Comments
AlisiaDecember 2, 2022 at 7:54 pm
Two of children were severely burned by these tide pods
KellieApril 14, 2022 at 8:31 am
Good morning, a few days ago I was getting ready for work and put on a sports bra that just came out of the dryer. I realized there was an undissolved tide pod stuck to it so I took it off and put on the sports bra. I went to work and about 2 hours being there my right breast started burning. I went to the bathroom to see what was going on and realized that whole right side smelled like detergent [Show More]Good morning, a few days ago I was getting ready for work and put on a sports bra that just came out of the dryer. I realized there was an undissolved tide pod stuck to it so I took it off and put on the sports bra. I went to work and about 2 hours being there my right breast started burning. I went to the bathroom to see what was going on and realized that whole right side smelled like detergent and was all red. I left work a few hours later and it was a bad burn. I went to urgent care and they said it was a chemical burn and sent me to a wound clinic. They agreed it was caused by the detergent. I’m an athlete so now I have to be out of work for at least a week with this burn.
SHASHAINovember 2, 2021 at 9:42 pm
3rd degree burn from tide pods
LoraineApril 5, 2021 at 1:35 pm
I washed clothes as usual...not overloaded machine, probably half full load. Put on a t shirt and went to bed. Middle of the night, my back started burning and itching. The outer, clear coating of a Tide pod was stuck to the inside of my shirt and had burned a large part of my back. I have pictures. Dangerous product!
SheliaFebruary 22, 2020 at 3:18 pm
My normal Saturday washing day. I used gain pod to wash my clothes with last week. On Monday at work I noticed a burning feeling to both breast, my back and my leg. Burning to all area from the pods. The pain was unbearable. I used aloe vera gel plus a burning spray I bought from CVS to smooth the pain
JaneJanuary 19, 2020 at 1:49 pm
Did laundry as normal, went out of town. For the weekend and took a shower before going to bed.. Come to find out the underwear i put on had a melted tide pod on it, woke up in excruciating pain.. I willl never use these again
JaimeMay 29, 2018 at 12:09 am
I went to sleep an I put a shirt on that had an undissolved pod stuck to the right sleeve on the inside and didn't notice Woke up in the middle of the night with a wet armpit and a very bad burning sensation Right now I have a severe burnt armpit that stings like crazy I bought A+D ointment and applied it on the affected area but it still feels really bad There is no warning on the package stating[Show More]I went to sleep an I put a shirt on that had an undissolved pod stuck to the right sleeve on the inside and didn't notice Woke up in the middle of the night with a wet armpit and a very bad burning sensation Right now I have a severe burnt armpit that stings like crazy I bought A+D ointment and applied it on the affected area but it still feels really bad There is no warning on the package stating anything about undissolved packages Wished it was so I would have read it I would not want anyone else to go what I'm going through right now
JOANApril 15, 2018 at 6:04 am
The plastic from a Tide Pod had melted on the sleeve of my nightgown and there was staining on the sleeve . The next night, my arm suddenly developed huge welts, turned bright red and started burning from my elbow to shoulder (where stain was). Thinking I was allergic to the concentration of the stain, I disposed of my nightgown in the garbage. I tried creams (still thinking I was allergic) and[Show More]The plastic from a Tide Pod had melted on the sleeve of my nightgown and there was staining on the sleeve . The next night, my arm suddenly developed huge welts, turned bright red and started burning from my elbow to shoulder (where stain was). Thinking I was allergic to the concentration of the stain, I disposed of my nightgown in the garbage. I tried creams (still thinking I was allergic) and they only made it worse. My skin is now like sandpaper and peeling , exposing another layer of skin.
PaulOctober 30, 2017 at 1:37 am
Last night at 3:30 a.m. I was woke up with a burning sensation on the upper part of my thigh and on my penis I went into the bathroom to see what was going on and I had a red rash that was burning I washed it with water and it stung like a burn I was going to go to the emergency room but I did not the next day it looked a lot worse in his skin was peeling off I washed my underwear the day before a[Show More]Last night at 3:30 a.m. I was woke up with a burning sensation on the upper part of my thigh and on my penis I went into the bathroom to see what was going on and I had a red rash that was burning I washed it with water and it stung like a burn I was going to go to the emergency room but I did not the next day it looked a lot worse in his skin was peeling off I washed my underwear the day before and with the Tide Pods that I don't believe all the detergent was out of the underwear because right where the burns were the detergent smelled really strong
FRANCINEApril 17, 2017 at 7:22 pm
Im noticing most of these comments were a few years ago. Obviously nothing has been changed. I was carrying a few pods (i work at a motel and we use these for our laundry). Apparently one had burst and somehow got on my tank top, and bra and now have big rash burn on my left breast.
HeatherFebruary 19, 2017 at 5:23 am
Just took my daughter to the er for 1st and 2nd burns from tide pod that she got a hold of in my daughters car. She was changed right away and then a bath soon as she got home. The burns were getting worse as we sat at the hospital. These things are dangerous and need to be pulled off the markets... she is 5....could have been worse.
RayNovember 29, 2015 at 3:06 am
Thousands of consumers are unaware of this dangerous product that causes severe welts, rashes and break outs all over your body from head to toe. Even skin specialists are not aware of the issue with Tide and their Pods. There is no warning label on their product as to the skin issues, only warns about possible eye problems. Their sales are over 100 plus million, so profits apparently come fir[Show More]Thousands of consumers are unaware of this dangerous product that causes severe welts, rashes and break outs all over your body from head to toe. Even skin specialists are not aware of the issue with Tide and their Pods. There is no warning label on their product as to the skin issues, only warns about possible eye problems. Their sales are over 100 plus million, so profits apparently come first and the public be dammed. What about the long term damage to your body cells caused by their toxic chemicals in this product?
TinaJuly 16, 2015 at 10:51 pm
My granddaughter had to go to urgent care due to severe rash and itching after her clothes had been washed with the tide pods. Over $100 and her sleepless nights were very unfortunate. She had to take steroids and other meds to get it under control. So beware! She is 9.
BrittanyJune 27, 2015 at 5:01 am
What can I do for my baby getting bruns from the tide pod's on his belle
mitchellApril 27, 2015 at 12:59 pm
Chemical burn from tide pod on ankle bad burn shouldn't work but have to
bobieMarch 24, 2015 at 9:41 pm
ialso had a tide pac squirt me and still have the open burns.