(144e) Determining the Liability of a Fire Starting Product

Natural Fire Starter is an ethanol based fuel gel which was designed specifically for wood and wood  pellet  stoves. It is sold in a plastic bottle with a child proof closure. This product had never been cited in any reported accident until a 7-year old was badly burned when he was allowed, unsupervised, to toast marshmallows in a wood burning fireplace.  The subsequent events reported by the child, his parents and brother are discussed as well as the experts and lawyers claiming the liability of the defendants. Said defendants include the manufacturer of the formulation, the bottle manufacturer, manufacturer of the closure and the packager.

In order to reconstruct the accident and determine the cause and liability involved, this investigator  had to consider the testimony of the injured child, his parents, brother , the ENT personnel, medical personnel, plus testing and testimony of  all of the experts as well as the statements made by the plaintiff’s attorney.

As simple as the product appears, over 50 characteristics and variables of the bottle of fire starter were considered in reconstructing the accident.

After extensive testing by this investigator and all of the experts on both sides, analysis  of all of the documents  and videotaped depositions, the conclusion of this investigator indicates that the case, as presented by the plaintiff’s attorney, is highly suspect and the opinions of the plaintiff’s experts are unreliable and without scientific substance.