Sunbeam Heating Pad Lawsuit Filed Over Third Degree Burns That Required Skin Graft

The CPSC issued a recall of the Sunbeam Heating Pads earlier this year due to the risk of fires and overheating.

Irvin Jackson

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A Texas woman has brought a product liability lawsuit against the manufacturers of her Sunbeam heating pad, alleging the defective design caused her to suffer third degree burns.

The complaint (PDF) was filed by Kristin Tiede in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on June 21, naming Sunbeam Products, Inc. and Newell Brands, Inc. as defendants. The lawsuit indicates that her Sunbeam heating pad was unreasonably dangerous, since it could unexpectedly overheat and catch fire, causing serious risks for consumers.

According to the lawsuit, Tiede was using a Sunbeam Queen Size Heating Blanket for the first time, to help with edema in her lower extremities. During the normal and expected use, she indicates the heating pad caused third-degree burns to her legs, which resulted in the need for an allograft skin graft.

In March 2023, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a Sunbeam Queen Size Heated Blanket recall, impacting about 43,000 units sold in the U.S., according to the lawsuit. Tiede points out the manufacturer was aware at that time of at least 13 reports involving problems with the heating blankets overheating.

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The CPSC warned in the recall announcement that the heating pads posed a risk of fires, and could cause burns for users.

“Defendants knew or should have known of these defects, but nevertheless, put profits ahead of safety by continuing to sell its Heating pads to consumers, failing to warn said consumers of the serious risks posed by the defects, and failing to timely recall the dangerously defective Heating pads, despite the risk of significant injuries to Plaintiffs and consumers like them,” according to the complaint.

Tiede’s lawsuit presents claims of strict liability, negligence, and seeks both punitive and compensatory damages.

Written by: Irvin Jackson

Senior Legal Journalist & Contributing Editor

Irvin Jackson is a senior investigative reporter at AboutLawsuits.com with more than 30 years of experience covering mass tort litigation, environmental policy, and consumer safety. He previously served as Associate Editor at Inside the EPA and contributes original reporting on product liability lawsuits, regulatory failures, and nationwide litigation trends.

Tags: Burns, Fire, Heating Pad Recall, Sunbeam

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5 Comments

Marty
My wife is at the burn center at MUSC right now. She had some pain in lumbar the Sunday before Thanksgiving. We tried to treat it at home but ended up at ER. Shot, dressed and 2 scripts. Pain was unbearable this weekend and she was referred to the Burn Center….why didn’t the first doctor do that….2ND degree burn with deep tissue damage. She may have 2 lawsuits
Darren
I have the neck, shoulder and back heated pad manufactured by sunbeam and followed directions as stated and before the auto timer was even finished I felt extreme pain in my neck and upper back. Upon my wife looking at my neck to see if there was any evidence of what could have caused this wretched burning sensation she was appalled and very scared to see that my neck had large boils all over it. It was almost unimaginable that a heating pad could cause so much damage so quickly, but upon researching the sunbeam unit I was using was very quickly informed that this is an unfortunately all too common occurrence with these Sunbeam units. I sought medical attention immediately within just a few hours, as I had to wait for Drs facility to open. I was diagnosed with second to third degree burns (where my skin had actually turned to ash around the boils) My medical provider took photographs, where they are stored in my medical records. I was also prescribed antibiotics, and severe burn creams. I am looking for council to represent me, and am looking to retain someone ASAP, preferably with experience dealing with Sunbeam burn suits.
Scott
Sunbeam Neck , Shoulder and back heating pad. The heating pad has several heat options and shuts off automatically. I have a second degree burn, that hurt like hell. My primary care physician gave me a tetanus shot, wrote referrals to the burn unit at Saint Barnabas Hospital and a wound care specialist. Keep asking myself how the heating pad can cause second degree burns? Needless to say I’m pretty pissed off have a lot of pain and have to see the doctor for several weeks to clean the wound and make sure it doesn’t get infected. Curious if it’s possible if Sunbeam will be paying for all my medical bills? Looking at some of the comments. I noticed that someone else had similar issue with the same heating pad.
Jacqueline
I just bought the neck, shoulder and back heating pad.. Woke up with horrible burns on the back of my neck.
John
Me and wife bought the queen heating pad she woke up last night with burns on her stomach

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