Woman Sues Company Over Flammable Party Product
A Santa Ana woman filed suit Monday against the maker of a confetti-like party product shot from an aerosol can, claiming she suffered severe burns after candles on a birthday cake ignited the propellant.
In her suit, Kimberly Ann Donia said her family sprayed Extra Thick Super String on the back of her head as she stood next to a cake marking her 22nd birthday on Dec. 8. When they sprayed, the chemical propellant in the product was ignited by the candles on the cake. “All of a sudden there was a whooshing sound,” said Lawrence Eisenberg, Donia’s attorney. “There was a blue flare from her waist up.”
Donia suffered first-, second- and third-degree burns to her head, neck, face and arms, according to the suit, which was filed in Orange County Superior Court. It seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages for personal injury, pain, suffering and emotional distress.
Named as defendants are the manufacturer E. Davis Inc.; the distributor, Levin & Schneider of Los Angeles; and Imaginarium, a toy store at MainPlace/Santa Ana, where the product was purchased.
In January, the Consumer Product Safety Commission banned Super String that had been manufactured before October. At that time, E. Davis introduced a reformulated Super String that was non-flammable.
The commission, which had received reports of several children being burned while playing with similar products, expanded the ban last week to include five other companies.
In cooperation with the commission, E. Davis recalled 3 million cans of Super String in January, and five other manufacturers recalled similar products last week.
Eisenberg said in an interview that the companies should have seen that it was “reasonable and foreseeable” to expect that the product would be used by children and near flames such as birthday candles.
“Obviously the manufacturer should have known they shouldn’t be used next to birthday candles,” Eisenberg said.
Lina Costanzo, customer service administrator at E. Davis in Piscataway, N.J., said the company has no comment on the suit.
But a spokesman for Levin & Schneider, named in the suit, said the product was marked as flammable.
“They warned that it shouldn’t be used by children or in the presence of a flame,” said the spokesman, who requested that his name not be used. “That’s not to say they don’t do it.”
But Eisenberg said the manufacturer failed to identify the extent of the dangers of the product.
“The nature or extent of flammability of the product was not divulged,” Eisenberg said. “In this type of situation, a consumer is not expected to understand their chemical constituents. . . . A warning in and of itself is insufficient.”
Ken Giles, a spokesman for the safety commission, said problems started after manufacturers of the string reformulated the product to remove a chlorofluorocarbon, or CFC, which has been linked to the depletion of the earth’s ozone layer. Manufacturers replaced the CFC, which was non-flammable, with dimethyl ether, which he said the commission found to be flammable.
The commission banned the product under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act because of its danger to children. “Ironically, in an effort to help the environment, they produced a flammable propellant,” Giles said.
Giles said that since October, companies have since replaced the ether with a non-flammable chlorofluorocarbon that is not believed harmful to the environment.
