Surge in Burn Injuries from Campfire Explosions Highlights Dangers of Unsafe Gas Cans

The growing popularity of backyard firepits and outdoor heaters has coincided with an alarming rise in burn injuries. According to the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC), emergency room visits for firepit-related burn injuries have nearly tripled since 2008. Young children are especially vulnerable, accounting for 25 percent of these burn injuries.

Last month, a 12-year-old boy died in a tragic campfire explosion at his home in West Point, Utah. And in January, a Northern Virginia pastor was severely burned after a firepit explosion in his backyard. Both these incidents involved the use of gas cans as an accelerant, highlighting the critical need for increased safety measures around portable containers that store flammable liquids.

Contact Pritzker Hageman Lawyers Today

Phone: 1-888-377-8900  |  Text: 612-261-0856

The consultation is free and you never pay anything until we win for you.

Gas Can Explosion Lawsuit Information

Red plastic portable gas cans are a common sight in American homes, with industry estimates suggesting that consumers buy about 20 million gas cans each year. From 1998 to 2012, data from the CPSC shows that gas can explosions during gasoline pouring resulted in 11 deaths and 1200 emergency room visits.

Victims of devastating gas can explosions have taken legal action, resulting in at least 80 explosion lawsuits filed against gas can manufacturers and retailers over the past two decades. Lawsuits allege that most portable gas cans have a dangerous design flaw: the lack of a flame arrester, a safety device that could help prevent devastating flashback explosions.

Fire safety advocates urge families with young children to be aware of the risks associated with gas cans and other flammable liquids because even with adult supervision, it can only take a few seconds for serious burns to happen.

Pritzker Hageman is one of the few law firms in the country with experience representing burn survivors and their families in explosion lawsuits. Our burn injury legal team has won hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients including some of the biggest burn recoveries in American history. Pritzker Hageman supports the burn survivor community by partnering with the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors and our attorneys have been active members of the American Burn Association.

The Pritzker Hageman burn injury legal team, in partnership with the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors, has put together a handbook covering important topics related to legal action after a burn injury.

Share this article:

Category: Explosion, Fire and Burn Injuries
Ready to talk?

We're here to listen. Tell us what happened to you.

We are not paid unless you win. Submitting this form does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Related Articles