Igloo Cooler Lawsuit Alleges Defective Tow Handle Severed Part of Man’s Finger

Lawsuit comes after more than 1 million Igloo coolers were recalled last year, amid reports of similar fingertip amputations and other serious hand injuries.

A California man has filed a lawsuit alleging he suffered severe injuries and nerve damage to his hand after his finger became caught in the hinge of a defective tow handle of an Igloo Cooler.

The complaint (PDF) was brought by David Bruce in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on July 29, naming Igloo Products Corp. as the sole defendant.

Bruce alleges a defect in the Latitude 90 Roller Cooler caused the hinge to pinch and crush his finger. He claims Igloo knew or should have known about the danger but failed to adopt safer alternative designs that were available.

Igloo Cooler Recall

Igloo recalled more than 1 million rolling coolers on February 13, 2025, following reports that the handle design could pinch users’ fingertips and cause serious injuries. The recall impacted several cooler models, including the Latitude 90 Roller Cooler purchased by Bruce.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Igloo received 12 reports of injuries involving the recalled coolers, including fingertip amputations, bone fractures and lacerations.

In April 2025, another lawsuit was filed against Igloo alleging that a California child suffered fingertip crush and pinch injuries due to the defective handle design on an Igloo cooler.

Igloo Cooler Handle Defect Allegations

According to the complaint, Bruce was camping with his family at Lake Alpine, California, on August 11, 2024, when he attempted to remove the Igloo cooler from a bear box.

As he slid the cooler forward, the tow handle caught on the bottom of the box and began to rise. Bruce’s left index finger became trapped in the hinge and was crushed between the handle and the cooler.

The injury caused substantial bleeding, tore off his fingernail and amputated a large portion of the fingertip, the lawsuit states.

Bruce alleges the cooler was defectively designed because the tow handle created a pinch point capable of crushing a user’s fingers during the normal and intended use of the product. He claims Igloo knew or should have known about the danger based on prior consumer injury reports but continued selling the cooler without adequate warnings.

The complaint also maintains that safer alternative handle designs were available that could have prevented the injury. However, Bruce alleges Igloo placed profits ahead of consumer safety by failing to adopt those designs or warn customers about the risk.

As a result, Bruce claims he suffered severe and permanent injuries, including disfigurement and nerve damage, and continues to experience pain and numbness in his left index finger.

“As a direct and proximate result of Defendant’s intentional concealment of such defects, it’s failure to warn consumers of such defects, its failure to timely remove a product with such defects from the stream of commerce, and its negligent design of such products, Plaintiff used an unreasonably dangerous Cooler, which resulted in significant and painful bodily injuries.”

— David Bruce v. Igloo Products Corp.

The lawsuit raises allegations of strict products liability—design defect and negligence/negligent product liability—negligent design defect. It seeks compensation for damages for significant and painful bodily injuries, past and future medical expenses, physical pain, mental anguish, disfigurement and diminished enjoyment of life.

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