PA & NJ Dangerous Products - Single Laundry Detergent Pods

by Daniel J. O'Brien [email protected]

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As parents, we want to ensure the safety of our children. From the time they are born, we make sure our homes are child-proof by putting covers on electric sockets or installing gates by the stairway.  However, there are household items in most homes that parents do not realize may be dangerous for their children.  One example of this is laundry detergent, especially the single packets or single pods. 

According to reports, 32,000 kids have ingested laundry detergent since 2012.  U.S. poison centers last year logged 13,314 cases of exposure to laundry-packet contents.  This is a 20% increase from 2014. More than 90% of the incidents involved children under the age of six, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers.

Once every hour, there is an urgent call to 911 or poison control that a child has ingested laundry detergent, often in the form of pods or packets.  Safe Kids reports that a child is hospitalized for injuries resulting from ingesting laundry detergent once a day.

Though the single pods are convenient for consumers to use because there is no measuring and no mess, they are enticing for young children.  The pods typically have bright colors that attract children.  Children may think the pod is a toy or candy.  They are also small enough that young children can pick them up.  Because young children are explorers, they will put the pods in their mouths, which causes the pods to dissolve.

If laundry detergent is ingested, children may suffer serious injuries.  This is especially true for the single pods because they are highly concentrated.  Children may suffer from the following:

• severe vomiting,
• diarrhea,
• temporary vision loss,
• lung damage, and/or
• trouble breathing.

Do Consumers Have Legal Rights If Injured After Ingesting The Laundry Detergent Pods?

Children and their families may have legal rights against laundry detergent manufacturers for injuries stemming from ingesting the products. In fact, there have been several lawsuits filed by families of children and adults against manufacturers of laundry pods in the U.S.

PA & NJ Dangerous Products Injury Lawyer

Daniel J. O’Brien, Esq. and his team have extensive experience helping consumers injured by dangerous products, from a consumer who was injured after falling off of a defective chair to a consumer who was injured by a defective power tool.  If you were injured by a product in PA or NJ and have questions, call to schedule a FREE consultation. 877.944.8396

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