DENVER,
Jan. 8,
2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh
& Jardine, P.C. announces a landmark victory in a personal
injury/product liability lawsuit against Sunbeam Products, Inc.,
and Newell Brands, Inc., on behalf
of their client, Georgina Perez, who
suffered catastrophic injuries when the multi-cooker/pressure
cooker, manufactured by the defendants, exploded. Burg Simpson's
trial team, led by Michael Burg,
Holly Kammerer, Shane Fulton,
and Hannah Huston, obtained a jury
verdict of $55,500,000.00 following
the 5-day trial. perez-verdict-form.pdf
"The jury understood the issues and sent a
message to the defendants that profits over the safety of Ms. Perez
and other consumers needed to be punished by the large punitive
damages it awarded in its verdict" stated Michael Burg.
On June 13, 2019,
Ms. Perez was preparing beans in her Express Crock Multi-Cooker, a
popular appliance that can be set to a pressure-cooking mode. After
the beans had finished cooking, Ms. Perez went to open the lid.
Suddenly, the unit exploded with violent force and shot scalding
beans and liquid into her face and body.
Unfortunately, Ms. Perez's injuries were the
result of a design defect that allowed the Express Crock to build
pressure even when the lid locking mechanism was not engaged. Ms.
Perez sustained second and third-degree burns over 13% of her body,
requiring: eight (8) amniotic skin grafts to her face and neck,
thirteen (13) cadaveric skin grafts to her neck, arms, and chest,
all requiring over two (2) square feet of skin grafts, and leaving
Ms. Perez with lifelong pain and disfigurement.
Sunbeam and Newell had knowledge of their
defective and dangerous multicookers for at least 2.5 years before
Ms. Perez's unit exploded (based on the date of the first reported
failure of their multicooker due to defective locking mechanism).
As a consequence of their failure to warn their customers of this
danger, the Denver jury found
these manufacturers not only negligent, but they acted with
reckless disregard for the health and safety of their customer, and
awarded Ms. Perez punitive damages in addition to compensatory
damages. The jury awarded Ms. Perez $3,500,000 for pain and suffering, $2,000,000 for disfigurement, $35,000,000 against Newell in punitive damages,
and $15,000,000 against Sunbeam in
punitive damages. The jury assigned apportionment of fault as
follows: Newell- 63%, Sunbeam- 27%, and Ms. Perez 10%.
About Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh &
Jardine, P.C.
One of America's foremost plaintiff trial firms,
Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine, P.C. has a reputation
for fighting relentlessly and successfully for victims of
negligence, malfeasance, malpractice, and abuse. Burg Simpson has
secured more than $2 billion in
verdicts, settlements, and judgments in practice areas spanning
dangerous pharmaceutical drugs and devices, medical malpractice,
personal injury, sexual assault and exploitation, commercial
litigation and whistleblowers, construction defects, workers'
compensation, and product liability, including more than 200
recoveries in excess of $1
million.
The firm was founded in 1976 by distinguished
American trial lawyer Michael Burg,
an inductee in the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame and a recipient of the
Clarence Darrow Award. Mr. Burg has
been named to the 2016 RoundTable: America's 50 Most Influential
Trial Lawyers by The Trial Lawyer magazine; Barrister's Best as
"Best Civil Litigator"; and one of "America's 50 Leading Trial
Lawyers" by The U.S. Legal 500. Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh &
Jardine, P.C. has 7 offices and award-winning lawyers throughout
the United States.
Burg Simpson: Good Lawyers, Changing
Lives®.
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SOURCE Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine, P.C.
